Dr Cooper Comes to Town
by HolyToledoBatman
Summary: Set in AU where all three Cooper kids are geniuses. How smart are they? Well Sheldon's not the smartest. A little bit of Shenny. I, of course, do not own the Big Bang Theory or any of its characters.
1. Chapter 1

The morning was crisp and clean and all things a southern California morning should be. The tall, lanky physicist finished cleaning his bowl of high fiber cereal and waited patiently for his roommate. That lasted three minutes and 12 seconds. "Hurry up Leonard, before we're late." The shorter of the two men came groggily trudging out of his bedroom, barely able to tie his robe in front of him. "Not today Sheldon. I emailed you 7 days ago, as per the roommate agreement that I'm working nights and thus cannot take you in to work today." Leonard actually felt a little triumphant that the roommate agreement had thus been followed and thusly had come around to bite Sheldon firmly on his skinny ass. He knew inside though that if Sheldon pushed it he would take him. Leonard kind of hated Sheldon having to ride the bus. Yes, Sheldon was a grown man, but Leonard also knew Great Danes who thought they were lap dogs and didn't like causing Sheldon as much misery as he got from riding the bus. Well he also simply didn't want to ruin Sheldon's day completely.

As if on cue to break the lull in their conversation their neighbor, who abhorred being up this early, came in dressed for work and seeking the comfort of a Columbian blend. "Coffee?" Penny eked out slightly as she moved in between the men to get to the kitchen. "Ready as usual," Leonard said as tiredly as she looked. "Thank you," she said between long drinks of warm wakefulness. "Not me…" Leonard retorted while pointing to Sheldon. All Penny could see was the back of his shirt hunched over his computer desk. She walked over, touched his shoulder and repeated the thank you she'd given to Leonard. Sitting up Sheldon simply nodded his head and went back to his screen. Inside however he was trying not to crawl out of his skin. Why did she insist on touching him sometimes and why sometimes did he wish she would. "Devil woman" was the thought in his mind when she interrupted. "Not going to work today?" she asked. "No, Leonard's not going in since he's working nights so I'm to remain here while the world of Physics will have to do without me until Thursday", he whined, "Sweetie, do you need a ride?" she said while also thinking about what was to come if he said yes. Damn that check engine light was still on. "Do you mind?" he perked up hopefully, glad he didn't need to get out his bus pants. "If you're ready to go, let's go." she sighed not wanting another speech about that damn check engine light.

The drive was pleasant and Penny didn't feel like torturing him with some of her more experienced driving techniques, so all and all he was a little less than irritating. She could tell he perked up when she pulled in to the university and they were surrounded by manicured lawns and students going to and from classes. She realized this was the kind of place he felt at home. After all he had left for college at age 11. Here he was someone important, not the social awkward genius who thought himself above most of humanity and spent far too much time in his apartment. She pulled into his spot, why the university gave one to someone they were well aware didn't drive she didn't know, and began to turn around. "Penny?" she heard him squeak. "Do you think you would be available this evening to pick me up?" It was at moments like this her heart softened for the 6'2" pain in the ass that had stolen her heart not long after they met years ago. That thought she would never let slip. "What's the magic word, Sheldon?" her eyes lifted. "Well, Penny there are many "magic words" so to speak from many different..." he didn't get to finish. "How about a guess then?" she said. "Do you think it's is either please or thank you?" eyes lifted again. Blue eyes met green eyes, "I believe it is both," he said. "Bingo!" she chirped and headed off to work herself.

He entered his office and booted up his laptop almost immediately. He knew Raj would be there soon to disrupt his thoughts, but he had grown accustomed to Raj though he would never tell him that. Ever. First thing was first though and it was Tuesday and that meant he would have an email from his brother George. Searching his list of emails he found it 24th down from the top.

 _Hey Sheldon,_

 _Sorry, no time for formality. I know you'll have many questions and you'll get them all answered, but plain and simple: I'll see you this Friday._

 _Dr. George Cooper, Ph.D._

Sheldon moaned audibly as Raj walked in. "What's wrong?" apprehension in his voice.

"My brother's coming to town." his head hanging to his desk.

"Holy shit! That's awesome!" Raj laughed while punching a message into his phone. A smile as big as could be on his face. He had to tell everyone that the eldest Cooper was coming to town and the quickest way to do that was to tell Wolowitz.


	2. Chapter 2

There is much to understand about the Cooper family. Mainly, all the kids are geniuses. Like top 10 smartest on the planet geniuses. They were all raised by their God-fearing mother in east Texas and all three of them left as soon as she would let them. Now Missy was probably the "least smart" if you could say that about a young girl who made Dougie Howser look like a chimpanzee playing with its own poop. She became a Pediatric Endocrinologist by the time she was 16 and found that she loved working with and helping kids. After about 10 years she was a world renowned doctor having won pretty much every major medical award in her field. This by the time most were just finishing their residency. She was beautiful and smart and in command of every situation she entered. She, just like the rest of the Cooper family, was also very protective of her twin, Sheldon.

Then of course there was Sheldon, child prodigy in a family of child prodigies. He had an IQ of 187 which he told everyone about. He was a teenager when he went to live in Germany as a guest lecturer in physics. He had two doctorates and other degrees by the time he was 17 and was a Stevenson Award winner. He was also quirky and to some people weird, but at the end of the day he was a well-respected figure in the physics community and, without argument from anyone, a future Nobel Prize winner. Luckily for him most of those things outweighed his demand nature.

And then there was George Cooper. The eldest Cooper was undoubtedly the smartest, not just smartest Cooper, but to many people the smartest human on the planet. A physicist as well, he left home at 15 to receive two bachelor's degrees in the less than two years and three doctorates by the time he was 20. His IQ, like Sheldon's, could not be adequately gauged, but experts put it around 195. It was that 8 point difference that Sheldon had tried to live up to his whole life. George was always supportive of his younger siblings, especially Sheldon, and was always commenting on his work with String Theory. The thing that made George Cooper really special was that in the physics community he was considered Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop and Beyoncé all rolled into one. His lectures were often chaotic and scientists came from around the world to watch the former boy genius play loud music and have grad students dance around while he was trying to explain quarks. Everyone who met George Cooper seemed to fall in love with him right away. He was handsome, charming, an Oxford professor and not the least bit intimidating. People felt like they could just walk up, start a conversation and he never once brought up his IQ. He was always willing to learn from those that others would deem to be less intelligent. In many ways he was very much like Sheldon and in so many was he was not.

 _"That's so cool. When?"_ The text message from Wolowitz sprung up on Raj's phone about 10 seconds later.

 _"Don't know. Talk soon."_ Raj quickly typed.

Penny had had a rather long day. Waitressing sucked and people sucked and her boss sucked and old people drank too much coffee and didn't tip and people sucked. Nothing sounded better than a hot bath and a glass of wine. It all sounded so good, just relaxing and watching Sex In The City. Just a few more steps and she was almost there to her quiet little apartment. That's when she heard it. Shouts of "Oh My Gawd" and "When, When, When" rang from 4A and she knew her guys were either playing a game or just created a robot girlfriend.

"What's up?" she said into the room to no one in particular.

"George Cooper is coming to see Sheldon." fired off Wolowitz before she closed the door.

She was excited to hear that Sheldon's brother was coming to visit. She never met George but understood that he was a lot like Sheldon in many ways but yet so very different. That's when Howard, Raj and Leonard all jumped up wanting to know what time George would be arriving, what he would be doing while he was here and what other things Sheldon was keeping from them. That's when Penny noticed that Sheldon seem to be overcome, he seem to be crawling in his own skin not wanting to answer the guys question.

"Back off guys. Give him a minute." She said stepping up to Sheldon and taking him by the arm and leading him to his spot on the couch. He didn't flinch.

"It's just his brother. Calm freaking down." She said it flatly to try to make a point to the very excited trio.

"Calm down?" Shouted Wolowitz.

"Do you know who George Cooper is?" Leonard said it so fast he quickly left the room and returned holding his inhaler.

"No. Why don't one of you trying explaining it to me." The sarcasm so thick in her voice she was sure they would pick up on it. They didn't.

"George Cooper is without a doubt one of the most brilliant people on Earth. He has worked with Hawking, Yang and is friends, actual freaking friends with Michio Kaku. Hell the man was exchanging letters when he was a kid with Andrei Sakharov, talking about physics. He is the Isaac Newton of our time. Holy shit...he's coming here." Raj said all of this so fast he looked like he was going to pass out before he could take another swig of his beer. Penny became aware that this was as big a deal to them as a new Star Wars movie.


	3. Chapter 3

Most of the week came and went with the usual routines, usual game night, usual comic night and usual work schedule. The only thing out of the ordinary was Penny's work schedule. God, Penny hated weekday breakfast shift at the Cheesecake Factory. Small tips given by small and grumpy people. As Friday got closer and closer the veneer was wearing off the guys and you could tell Howard, Leonard and Raj where starting to freak a little. Sheldon on the other hand seemed as calm and collected as always.

"Sweetie, you okay?" Penny asked quietly Thursday over pizza. It was Anything Can Happen Thursday so the others had decided to go to a bar and hit on women they had little chance with. Hopefully Raj wouldn't overdo it with the drinking since he would need to talk to girls there. Penny and Sheldon sat alone. She found that she enjoyed this. Sheldon didn't feel the need to fill quiet gaps in conversation with banal chit chat. He didn't constantly try to be close to her or come up with lame reasons to put his hands on her. That was one thing from her time with Leonard she didn't miss. Sheldon was easier in his own way and it was easy to be near him. He always smelled clean and fresh. A little like Johnson and Johnson No More Tears and lilacs. She had noticed that over time he had become less stiff around her. One time shortly after they first met, she sat next to him on the couch and she could literally feel his body stiffen at her just being that close to him, but was sure he didn't say anything because his mother raised all her children to be mannerly to guest. Now she knew she was no longer a guest in Sheldon's apartment. It had taken time, time she was happy to give, but she had finally and gradually become a fixture in his life. Not really much different in importance than his spot on the couch, but to Sheldon anything he allowed into his routine was definitely important to him. His spot on the couch, his dietary routine, his comics and…his Penny? The comforting thought was that she knew if Sheldon cared for something, something inside his routine, he would staunchly defend it against all comers. If only when she had met them she had made her preference known. She liked Sheldon since day one, it was after all his white board she gravitated to. His tall lanky frame that had reminded her of the sweet boys from her days in high school. His way of acknowledging she was there without tripping over himself to impress her. How he was considerate of her, after a time, without expecting a date or his thoughtfulness to be repaid in some other way. Leonard had done the exact opposite. Constantly coming at her wanting affection or a date or some hint that he had a chance. It wasn't that she didn't like him. Leonard was sweet and caring and very thoughtful. In fact he was too much of all those things. He over did it when it came to trying to make her happy because his happiness was too dependent on hers. She knew deep down that she could twist Leonard in any direction she wanted and he would take it because he needed her to feel whole himself. That was what disturbed her the most. He was too busy trying to make her happy that he made her want to push him away for the attempt. It was no way she wanted to treat someone she cared about and she did care for Leonard. He was her friend and they had settled in a comfortable friendship few people could have with the opposite sex.

"Are you nervous about your brother coming to town?" It squeaked out a little more than she wanted it to. Trying to make a connection with Sheldon was tricky, deer in headlights and all that.

"No. Why would I be nervous about seeing my brother Penny?" He said it without taking his eyes off a piece of sausage on his pizza that had caught his ire.

"Well the guys seem really excited. Like getting to meet Stan Lee kind of excited and you seem a little...apprehensive." She said it while looking down and her food.

"Well...It's just that George Jr. is such a big personality and you know I'm a little more used to being reserved." The upper inflection of his voice as he finished the sentenced made Penny feel like she was being asked a question. Penny understood at that moment something she had never understood before. She finally saw a vulnerable side to Sheldon, other than when he was sick and wanting her to sing Soft Kitty that is. Sheldon was insecure when it came to his brother.

"Holy Shit! Sheldon just showed a real emotion." The thought was so loud in her head she thought she might have said it out loud for an instant.

"Well don't worry. I'll be right here by you to make sure the guys don't get out of hand." She said it like a friend, supportive and comforting, but meant it as something strangely more. And that's when it happened. His hand came down on top of hers and gave it the slightest of squeezes. The touch shot a jolt through Penny before she could even contain herself. It was like fire and ice and it lasted for but a fraction of a second. He took his hand away from hers and went back to eating his pizza like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. But it had. This was Sheldon Cooper and Sheldon Cooper did not touch people. He sure as hell didn't touch Penny because every time she gave him a hug he tried to wiggle out of it while trying not to move a muscle. If she hadn't been so taken back by what had just happened she might have noticed a small smile cross his lips for little more than a nanosecond.


	4. Chapter 4

Friday finally came and Penny dropped Sheldon off at Cal Tech. Since Leonard was working late, Penny had taken it upon herself to take Sheldon to work for the remainder of the week. Penny had enjoyed their time in the mornings, spent it listening to music that Sheldon could hardly understand and his complaints about her check engine light were becoming comical. Comical to her, certainly a little more life or death to Sheldon. She was a little sad to know this was the last day she would be taking him to work. Next week Leonard was returning to his daytime schedule and her shifts at the Cheesecake Factory would be going back to normal as well. That sadness was tempered though by the fact that this evening she would be getting to meet George Cooper and would be seeing what all the hype was about. Penny found it difficult to believe that there was someone out there who was smarter than Sheldon. The fact that it was another Cooper was just mind boggling.

Sheldon knew something was amiss the moment he stepped into the physics building. There were far more people there than normal and as he got closer to his office he started to notice the crowd got thicker.

"What's going on?" He said to Raj who was already sitting at his desk. That was a little uncharacteristic of Raj, but Sheldon didn't really believe social protocol allowed for him to bring up criticism of Raj's punctuality this early in the morning.

"People found out about your brother coming to see you and the rumor got started that he would be here this morning." Raj said it, but never took his eyes off what he was texting to Howard while he said it.

"You know full well his flight lands at 6:45 pm and he won't be by the apartment until 8:00 pm." Sheldon quipped annoyed.

"How were we supposed to know that?" Howard said entering the room.

"I emailed you." Sheldon said to both men as if that answered everything.

Howard quickly looked through his emails and realized it came from Sheldon's home email address that he only used for personal business like his newsletter about flags and other stuff Howard just didn't want to read about. All of which meant that if an email comes from Sheldon's home email address it goes straight to Howard's junk folder.

Still looking at Raj and realizing that understanding wasn't coming Sheldon continued.

"I informed you, Leonard and Howard that we would have to have dinner later since I would need to be at the apartment to see George." Sheldon said while sitting down to his desk.

People were gathering outside the door and some were giving up the pretense of being there to see anything other than George Cooper. Heads of people starting popping around the door frame and the moans from Sheldon were becoming more audible. Howard decided that he should take matters into his hands before something set Sheldon off.

"He's not here. Flight won't be in for hours and so if he's coming it won't be until Monday." Howard boomed down the hall in his nasally voice reminiscent of his mother.


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone sat around the apartment anxiously waiting for a knock to come to the door. Leonard had even put on a shirt, tie and sports coat. This elicited name calling from Raj and Howard who both wish they had done the same thing. Sheldon sat at his computer working on his latest paper without one indication that he was even aware of what was going on in the room. Penny tried to take it all in as the three men bickered about what one of them was wearing and the other who seemed to be completely unaware of it all. Penny knew though that Sheldon was very aware of what was going on. That he was probably not only writing a paper, but counting the number of times Howard called Leonard a douche, how Leonard had tied his tie completely wrong and Raj was wearing a color combination that was supposed to exude strength subconsciously to anyone in the room. That's when she caught herself watching Sheldon type. His long fingers moving over his keyboard so quickly yet so assuredly. She noticed he hardly made a mistake, in fact once she noticed it she saw he wasn't making any mistakes. What would it be like for those fingers to walk along the skin of her leg, or across her arm or across the skin of her inner…?

 ** _Knock Knock Knock… Knock Knock Knock… Knock Knock Knock_**

"Oh dear lord I hope I did that right" A woman's voice came from the other side of the door. That alone was enough to send Wolowitz sliding across the floor to quickly answer it.

The statuesque woman stood in the hallway and looked quizzically at Howard, who stared dumb struck, before she stepped into the room. The guys just stared and Howard's mouth was actually open. The tall brunette looked like she must have come straight off the cover of Women's Fitness or Cosmo. She was lean and dark with more muscle tone than the guys could take in. Her raven black hair fell just past her shoulders and her skin was tan and flawless. Even Penny was speechless at the sight of this woman and felt insecure next to her. Penny wondered how someone could look so striking while only wearing yoga pants, a shirt that had the US Army logo and a black North Face wind breaker. The three scientists in the room were probably having much different thoughts.

She quickly strode across the room while everyone stared.

"Non-optional family bonding." She said heading straight for Sheldon.

He stood up and Penny noticed his eyes rolled back in his head like he was being inconvenienced, yet his arms opened and he let her hug him.

"It's good to see you Gina. Though I don't understand for the life of me why you insist on hugging me every time we see each other. I mean you just got off a plane and could be covered in God only knows what type of bacteria." Sheldon lectured.

Now it was this woman's turn to roll her eyes in her head. She took a step back and looked directly in his eyes and that's when Penny realized this woman was 6 feet tall and if pissed could probably break Sheldon in half. She was an impressive figure and not the least bit intimidated by him. Their eyes locked, Sheldon stared down the amazon they suddenly had standing in their living room. That's when both their faces softened and a laugh escaped Sheldon and Gina and the same time like there was a private joke and the four other people in the room where not invited in on it. Then Gina offered her hand to Sheldon and he shook it and turned to his friends.

"Everyone this is Gina Cooper, my sister-in-law." Before Sheldon could finish out the introduction Wolowitz slid up in front of her.

"Hello, Madam. Allow me to introduce myself. Howard Wolowitz, engineer. I build things that go into space." He soothed out with the least amount of swarm Penny thought he could manage. A polite little "Oh, that's nice" was the only reply he got in return.

Leonard and Raj came in closer for introductions too and that was when Penny realized something about these three. They would try to impress any woman that came near them. Well Leonard and Howard anyway. Penny noticed Raj was just nodding his head and smiling as Sheldon made introduction amongst them. They just learned this woman was married to Sheldon's brother, a man they admitted they idolized and in their minds they were try to decide who would get "dibs" on her. It was a repeat of the time Missy came to see Sheldon when she was in town for a wedding and the guys just threw themselves at her like she was just going to hop in the sack with the winner. The faintest glimpse of sadness crossed her mind when she realized this must have also taken place when she first moved across the hall. A debate of who saw her first like she was property. This thought process would have gotten worse and led to the drinking of more wine than was needed, but Penny wasn't given the chance.

"Gina, I would like you to meet my friend and neighbor, Penny." Sheldon introduced the ladies to one another and Penny realized what the guys must feel like when they were around someone like her ex-boyfriend Kurt.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Penny said sticking out her hand.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you too." Gina said, taking Penny's hand and gently shaking it.

"Sheldon has talked very highly of you in his emails." Gina continued in a kind tone.

"Really?" Penny was taken a little off center by the fact that not only did Sheldon email this woman and never mentioned it, but also that he spoke well of Penny in those emails. Penny threw a look Sheldon's way and saw, for the briefest of moments, blush in his cheeks. She knew that she had a little leverage on him and she knew that he knew it too. "Well wouldn't that be just delightful", she thought as the guys crammed back in around them. Penny caught the faintest hint in the way Gina looked around the room, as if she was used to this kind of attention from men. As they talked, Howard finally couldn't hold back any more of his patented charisma. He gently took her hand and began to raise it to his lips.

"Get your hands off my wife, Wolowitz." The voice shocked everyone and the man it came from shocked Penny.

Standing in the door was Sheldon, but not Sheldon. George Cooper was 6'3" and broader shouldered than Sheldon, but still had the long arms that all the Cooper children had. He wasn't muscly like the gym bunnies Penny used to date, but you could tell he was a physically active man, his muscles were not for show but for utility. He was dressed in black Nike jogging pants and a blue Patagonia windbreaker that was zipped up to the neck. His muscles moved against his clothes as he walked across the living room to the group standing near the kitchen. Most people looking on would guess this man had once been military, or police or even a fire fighter. His jawline would have matched Sheldon's if it wasn't covered by a well-manicured Henry VIII styled beard that was flecked with a hint of grey.

"Holy shit!" was all Penny could think and felt a little heat rise in her cheeks. The thought that Sheldon could look like this struck her almost off balance.

Leonard, Howard and Raj just stared. Really not much different than the time they saw Harrison Ford at The Grove and made everyone uncomfortable because they just stared at the man. Howard was the only one to speak and all he could say was "Han Solo".

"Did she get you with that non-optional family bonding trick again?" George bemused to Sheldon, "Because I'm going to use it too."

Sheldon gave the same look he had when Gina hugged him and begrudgingly accepted the hug from his older, larger brother.

"It's good to see you Shelly", George said catching himself, "Sorry, Sheldon. I know you hate that nickname." The moniker had bothered Sheldon since childhood and his brother was understanding in his desire not to be called "Shelly" anymore. Missy on the other hand was never going to stop calling her twin "Shelly" because as a twin she delighted in "busting Shelly's chops" as she put it.

"George you know I'm always happy to see you and Gina, but what is it that you couldn't tell me over Skype?" Sheldon asked after already reaching his limit of formality.

"Let me say hello to everyone and then we'll talk." George responded while turning more to his wife and the group.

"Howard? Is it Dr. Wolowitz yet or are you still making excuses about how engineers really don't need a doctorate." The larger Cooper stood over the much smaller Wolowitz while shaking his hand. Before Howard could respond though George Cooper said, "Howard, I already knew it and we are going to hash this out it a couple days while I'm here. You and I both know there is little holding you back with your credentials." It was odd, Penny thought, that this exchange wasn't someone giving someone else a hard time, but more an older sibling or mentor wanting full achievement for someone they believed in. Howard meted out "Ok" like he knew a lecture was coming and he was already outgunned on the issue.

Stepping to Raj, George took the astrophysicist's hand in a firm shake. "Please tell me you've at least had a beer. I want to discuss the orbital degradation of celestial objects paper you published last month. Dr. Hawking and I read it..."

"Dr. Stephen Hawking read my paper?" Raj gave up any pretense of there being women in the room. He repeated over and over, "Hawking read my paper" in stunned, almost inaudible mumbling.

"Yes, he did." George said as if he just told someone they had a healthy and lovely baby, "I'll buy you a beer at dinner so we can talk about it. " At this point Howard had actually put his arm around Raj's shoulder to comfort him before shock set in.

"By the way, Gina and I are going to take everyone to dinner since we're famished and I'm sure you guys haven't eaten yet." George Cooper said stepping up to Leonard. "What's up Hofstadter?" He quipped coolly.

"Everything's great." Leonard said as George Cooper had already moved away. George moved back away from the guys and towards his wife, Sheldon and Penny.

Without her being fully aware of it, Sheldon had moved beside Penny. "George, this is my neighbor Penny." Sheldon almost warned, "Be nice."

Penny stuck her hand out and George gently took it in his large, firm hand and shook it with the same grace he would have used if she had been a foreign dignitary. With a small bow of his head Penny could no longer hide her blushing and a small giggle escaped her lips.

"It is my sincerest pleasure to meet you Penny." This time George Cooper's voice was different. The words came off his lips with so much charm and warmth Penny's literally swooned standing there in the kitchen. "Sheldon speaks very highly of you." Gina smacked George in the elbow and Penny realized there was something between the two that had to do with her, but she wasn't in on.

"Why don't girls react like that to me?" Wolowitz mumbled in the living room. Raj whispered something in his ear, "I'm handsome in a different way." The small man shot back at his friend.

"George, please tell me what's going on?" Sheldon could no longer hold in his curiosity. The pressure of his brother being here, in his apartment, while holding back some piece of knowledge was more that Sheldon could bear.

"Sheldon, I'm here to talk to you about your expedition to the Artic and your monopole research." George Cooper said flatly as if he were saying it to the whole room. He was completely aware of the three scientist's, standing in the living room, breath catching as he said it.


	6. Chapter 6

After dividing up who would ride with who to the restaurant, George Cooper elected to ride with Leonard, Howard and Raj while Sheldon and Gina caught a ride with Penny. Gina expressed how thankful she was not to have to ride with the four scientist because she was positive her husband was about to "geek out all over them", as she put it. Penny noticed that Sheldon had seemed to sink back into himself when his brother brought up their trip to the Artic. She was going to ask Sheldon about it, but decided that perhaps that was something better left in private. So Gina and Penny spent the ride chatting about how great California was and how Gina had always wanted to visit Los Angeles. Both women were stoked that they shared a love of Taylor Swift, long baths and dark chocolate. Sheldon simply thought to himself, "Don't all women like those things?" He sunk further into himself.

In the other car though things were decidedly tenser, but you couldn't tell from the way George Cooper went about. He was simultaneously telling Howard how he could benefit from a doctorate since he was already doing work for NASA while asking Raj about his paper on orbital degradation. He was moving his hands around, mimicking the orbits of planets while using a metaphor about apples and atoms. His level of understanding was quickly outpacing the ability of the others scientist's understanding. Leonard stopped him several times to ask questions about gravity, spatial interference and then gave up and quietly realized he was outmatched. In fact the eldest Cooper was bringing up questions about Raj's paper that even Raj didn't understand. And despite George Cooper's jovial disposition and laughing and his truly enjoying being around the other scientist, people he could "talk shop with", Leonard, Howard and Raj were waiting for him to drop the bomb he had leveled in the apartment.

Penny was excited to see the restaurant Gina had chosen. It was a small Italian place near Los Feliz. You might as well just have called the restaurant Trendy. It was small, and dark inside with only lighting on the rich red walls and dark wooden tables. Tables and chairs were placed about to make the dining area seem more homely while the starched white table clothes definitely stated class. The wait staff moved around the tables with precision and blended into the background with their entirely black clothing. Penny recognized how professional wait staff worked and realized this place was most assuredly out of her price range. But since George and Gina offered to pay she was definitely going to enjoy being the one waited on for once. The entire group would have been considered under dressed, but George Cooper simply stated his money was green and he was hungry. The entire group was shown to a large round table in the back and everyone took their seats. George sat with his back to the corner and the scientists to his left, Gina and Penny to his right circling back around to Sheldon. As the waitress brought water and took drink orders Penny could tell her four neighbors were uncomfortable and starting to squirm. Gina politely chatted with Penny, but from time to time her eyes would drift to Sheldon, seeing him clearly looking as if a large weight was pushing him into his seat. Orders were taken and George Cooper just went on and on asking genuine questions about the guy's work, Sheldon's recent paper that he hadn't published yet and the physics department at Cal Tech. Penny could see why people found George charming. He was interesting, handsome, and brilliant and seemed to sincerely be interested in the people around him. Even the waitress flirted with him just a bit.

Sheldon was the first to man up. "Spill it George. What's going on and why are you really here?" He said into the middle of his plate of rigatoni with potatoes and cabbage. His east Texas drawl coming out a bit and Penny had to admit she liked it. After he said that the other men at the table emboldened a small measure behind him.

"Penny, why don't we head to the bar?" Gina was quick to take a clue. Penny followed her with a simple and confused "Ok…" but continually looked back in the table's direction.

"Ok, then…" The full size of the elder Cooper could be seen now as he pushed back from his meal and crossed his arms over his sizeable chest.

"Which one of you idiots sabotaged the Arctic experiment?" It was a flat question poised to the four men as he wiped his beard with a starched napkin. His eyes coldly peered across the table at them.

At the bar Gina ordered her and Penny a glass of Pinot while Penny kept her eyes on the five men at the table.

"Do the guys know each other?" she asked Gina over her shoulder.

"Only in passing I believe." Gina said back while handing Penny the glass of wine. "George met Raj at a symposium in Miami or someplace and again at a fundraiser for the Space Society. He made sure to look him up when he found out he was a friend of Sheldon's. Howard, I believe, George met when he was consulting at NASA and Howard was there for training. Again when he found out he was a friend of Sheldon's, George made sure to bump into him. Leonard is a slightly different matter." Gina continued, "Leonard has asked George to consult on paper after paper, but he's declined because he said Leonard's work has already been done by the Danish or something like that, and there is nothing to consult on. He also didn't like the way Leonard kept dropping Sheldon's name instead of letting the papers speak for themselves. George kind of as a thing against the Hofstadters since Beverly Hofstadter tried to talk him down at a conference about atoms interacting in the brain. I didn't really follow the science on that one."

Penny sat and listened to Gina talk and found she enjoyed the woman's company. Gina was warm and charming like her husband while being genuinely friendly to Penny considering the women had only known each other about an hour and a half.

"Pardon me for being so talkative, it's just I haven't gotten to hang out with another girl in so long." Gina excused herself. "With George being who he is and the field he's in and me doing what I do. Well", she paused taking another sip of wine, "There isn't a lot of people or opportunity to have girl time with."

"What is it you do?" Penny asked, now giving her full attention to Gina.

"Oh, I'm an MMA fighter." Gina said plainly, as if it was apparent.

Wine shot out Penny's mouth and nose as she took in what the statuesque beauty had just told her.

"Oh I'm so sorry." Penny said over and over.

"It's Ok." Gina retorted, laughing at Penny's reaction. "You're not the first person who's reacted that way. My parents being the first. I'm just starting my training and George is 100% against it, but still being supportive. He thinks my being able to kick his ass is a bad combination with all the mind games he thinks I'm playing on him."

Penny only looked at her in confusion.

"I'm a psychologist as well. It's kind of how we met. He was teaching and I was visiting a friend. Since our friends were British they thought it would be great to introduce us, the only two people from east Texas in Oxford at the time, to one another."

Penny listened on as Gina told her of how she and George had met at a party and starting dating. How horrible George had been at courting her and how nervous he was on their first date. How after a couple years of dating he proposed and accidentally dropped the ring into a sewer grate. The whole proposal was impromptu and on a corner outside their favorite café and was how he lost what, Gina lovingly refers to as her "first ring". How people stared as he loosed more curse words in three minutes than she had ever heard before. How he thought he was going to lose her over the whole debacle. She smiled as she told all these stories of her and George's life together and Penny thought it all so wonderful. Gina was quick to point out that living with and being in love with one of the Coopers was a whole different set of challenges. The late nights or the nights he doesn't even sleep because he's stuck on a problem. The exacting routine he follows because he doesn't have time to worry about varieties of breakfast cereal. The days he forgets to change clothes or even take a shower. The gentle pressure from the loving yet sternly religious Mary Cooper, who was quick to point out, to any of her children that would listen, that she had been in deep negotiations with the "Good Lord above" about a house full of grandchildren. Both women also agreed they loved Mary Cooper.

Penny recognized Sheldon in some of those idiosyncrasies and thought some of those must be unique to George. What really struck her was Gina was saying all this to her as if it was a fair buyer's warning. What did this woman know that Penny wasn't being let in on? Whatever it was, Penny was enjoying her time with Gina and also enjoying the looks from the men sitting at the bar. It was fun to feel pretty and it was fun to get attention, as long as that was all it was. She laughed and smiled as Gina went on about her training and her wanting to try out MMA style fighting despite the protests from everyone she knew. Penny told of stories of failed and miserable auditions and how she hadn't planned to be a waitress this long. Also of how the guys had let her into their circle and made her feel welcomed. Penny laughed as she threw a look over her shoulder at the guys and clearly saw four dower faces all looking down at their plates.


	7. Chapter 7

"Well…I'm waiting." George Cooper said flatly. The fact he just sounded like his mother bothered him.

Raj dropped his head with such disdain he hit it on the table while Howard flung his head back and put his hands over his face. Both men gave out long sighs. Leonard only continued to look ahead at George, or more accurately, through George. Sheldon took another bite of his food, but never looked up from his plate.

"Well after those reactions I guess I know who did what." George continued in his flat tone while never removing his eyes from the three men.

"How did you know?" Was all Sheldon responded with, mentally placing himself between his friends and his brother?

"Simple. Dr. Isaacs in Berlin and Dr. Martin at Cambridge both came to me after having reviewed the data. Your experiment would either have found traces of evidence for monopoles in deep polar ice or would have found nothing instead. Either way the data collected from this experiment would have been beneficial to several scientist around the world." He put his elbows on the table, crossed his hands under his chin and continued. "What did you find though? Enough evidence that not only are there monopoles in polar ice, but said monopoles are dancing around, fornicating and clubbing baby seals." The aggravation in his voice starting to come through. "Was it a can opener or microwave? Because those are the only two things I found that could be putting off enough magnetic interference to totally jack over this whole cocked up mess." The Texas drawl now appearing in his voice. "Sheldon, I know you had to send a retraction email to Gablehauser. I also know you wouldn't have published this piece of crap knowing the data was totally jacked unless you were protecting the three Stooges over here." George Cooper gestured to the men off handedly. Sheldon lifted his head to say something, but before he could Leonard spoke up.

"You're right. Absolutely right. It was a prank we played to get Sheldon to be a little less anal retentive because he was driving us crazy." Leonard felt relieved as he said the words. It had be a long time in coming.

George looked down and sighed. "And you two?" He looked at Raj and Howard.

"Us too." Raj said in defeat.

"I understand that my brother is a world class pain in the ass." George said looking at Sheldon. Sheldon looked as if to interrupt but was stopped in his tracks. "Shut up Sheldon, you know damn well it's true." After a long pause he continued, "I just want to say I'm proud of you." George got the words out and confusion spread over the men's faces. "I'm proud of you Sheldon for trying to protect your friends. I'm pissed to all sorts of hell the three of you were going to let him sink his career over this. You three were given the chance to work on a project that had Nobel Award potential and you pulled a prank. What the hell were you thinking? Each of you could have written your own tickets after this." George continued with the chastisement. "That expedition cost $600,000 dollars and on top of that had the university's reputation sitting on it. Do you know how many universities want to use that arctic station? If Eric Gablehauser found out it was a prank he'd fire all four of you. If President Siebert found out you blew the university's money on a prank the litigation alone would ruin you. Raj, your Visa would be gone so quick there'd be skid marks on your ass as you hit the ground in India. The rest of you would be lucky to get teaching jobs in Minot, ND. Sheldon you would be lucky to be teaching evolution to creationist in Texas because living with our mother would be your only option. That doesn't even figure in to all the scientists around the world who were going to read about the findings." The real disappoint started to show on George Cooper's face. "Sheldon. Did you think I wasn't going to read it? You're my brother, didn't you think I would be the first one to read it?" Now all four of their faces hung in shame.

"Look, I'm not here to through anyone under a bus, but the questions from other scientists are about to start popping up. This data is being looked at all over the world. I'm here to help you get this mess back under control before people even realize there is a mess to begin with. That way everyone gets to keep their careers and reputations intact."

All four scientist went from a gloom and doom look to more hopeful and then crowded in on every word George Cooper was saying at this point. George went on to describe how Leonard was going to take the blame and the credit for fixing the faulty data. His plan was that Leonard would admit to using the can opener which caused the problem in the data and that once the men returned home they spent their personal time trying to reconcile what the data had showed. It would make Leonard the scapegoat and the hero of this particular scenario while hopefully preventing any litigation. Leonard would go on to describe Sheldon's experiment as being a fruitful endeavor just not fruitful in its results. George would say it was Sheldon that asked him to come to help them correlate any inaccuracies in the data and verify Sheldon's mathematical models reinforcing the idea that the experiment was indeed a valid endeavor, but far more complicated in practice then anyone had thought. George also told Howard and Raj to get on board and help or he would ruin them both professionally and personally. This was enough enticement alone to get the two of them on board.

Penny and Gina returned to the table at this point since it seemed from a distance that everything was okay.

"Penny? Do you mind if I borrow your car?" George lowered the baritone in his voice when he made the request.

"Ummm…sure. I guess." Penny responded by handing him the keys and looking puzzled.

"Raj, would you mind taking everyone home. I want to talk to Leonard for a moment while I pay the bill." George Cooper kept the baritone in his voice low while not looking up from the check to see Raj's response.

Everyone understood this was where George would be laying down the law and it looks like that was going to be right on top of Leonard.

As everyone left Leonard felt a lump forming in his throat. It was the same sensation he got when he was criticized by his mother.

"Is there something else you wanted to discuss?" It came out a lot weaker than Leonard had wanted it to.

"You're my brother's best friend," It was a statement of fact and said as nothing more. "But if you ever think for one moment I'm going to let him throw away his career to protect any of you worthless jackasses, you will find me your enemy. And if this plan of mine fails and push comes to shove I will be throwing you and those other two dipshits directly to the lions."

Leonard took a hard gulp and was beginning to defend himself when George continued.

"In my eyes you're the only Hofstadter with any promise." It came out of George's mouth as both an insult and a compliment. "I've met your whole family Leonard. You're the only one who does the science for the science. You're not trying to win anything that any other scientist wouldn't want to win and I know living up to your mother's expectations is most likely impossible. That's why one day you'll surpass them all. You've just got to give up this derivative research and get to work on something original. I want to help with that. We all know Sheldon's going to win the Nobel some day and if I can help him I will. In time I'll probably get my own Nobel too, but I think there is something great in store for you as well. Will you let me toss some ideas off you and tell me what you think?" Leonard sat shocked as George Cooper, one of the planet's smartest people, insulted his family and his research while simultaneously praising him and asking if Leonard would accept help in possibly advancing his career.

"That'd be…great." Leonard said stunned. "And just so you know if it came down to it I would never have let Sheldon sink his career."

"That's good to know because if you had…" George Cooper just looked at Leonard blankly before staring back down at the check. "Ouch, Gina sure can pick these places."

Signing the check, George looked at Leonard and said, "Besides its not me you really need to be worried about because if Missy finds out about this she'll kick all our asses."


	8. Chapter 8

"How in the bloody hell does she manage to drive this thing?" George Cooper moaned as he drove Penny's little VW back to the apartment. He was trying to keep the little red deathtrap running while making sure the engine didn't stall and fighting the wheel. "It's got to be the power steering pump." George Cooper said, mostly commenting to himself. Leonard only sat glued to his seat hoping they made it back in one piece. Penny was the only one who possessed the ability to manage her car.

At the apartment everyone waited and gossiped about what George was likely saying to Leonard once the two men were alone. Gina just commented that if the four of them were as smart has George said they were, they would get on board with whatever he wanted. Sheldon went to his desk to fire up his laptop while Howard and Raj fired up the Xbox. Penny and Gina sat at the island in the kitchen area and continued getting acquainted with one another. That's how George and Leonard found everyone when they entered twenty minutes later.

"Check engine lights on Penny." George said, tossing Penny her keys. He moved across the apartment to his wife and kissed her on the cheek. Penny audibly moaned. George just smirked back realizing that he was not the first Cooper to bring up that damn check engine light.

"Care to join us for a game Dr. Cooper?" Howard said from in front of the TV.

"Call me Coop, Howard." George said looking back into living room. "But I think we'll be heading to our hotel. It's getting late and jet lag is starting to get to me."

"Aww." Gina Cooper whined, "Me and Penny were just starting our glasses of wine. Fifteen more minutes sweetheart? Please." Gina Cooper knew how to play her husband and she knew George never really told her no anyway.

"Ok. It will let me talk to Sheldon about the rest of our news." George said while tossing a glance at Sheldon who immediately perked up. Everyone else in the apartment took notice and gave their attention to George.

"What else could there be?" Sheldon asked.

"Come sit down Shelly…" George winced. "Sorry. Sheldon." George started to sit in Sheldon's coveted spot when everyone, but Gina, immediately chorused "No!" at him.

George sat down anyway and made direct eye contact with Sheldon.

"Let me guess. Moderate flux in temperature from season to season while being suitably breezy in the summer and close enough to your heating source in the winter. It's at the optimal angel from the television to watch, yet be involved in any conversations going on around you." George Cooper, Coop now to the guys, listed off every reason Sheldon had ever had for this spot. He continued, "It's also the optimal space to have your back to none of the ingress or egress points in the apartment. It also places whomever is sitting at it at the head of an octagonal prism placing that person at the "power point" in the room. Not to mention…" George stood up, leapt in to air and brought his posterior right back down into Sheldon's beloved spot, "It appears to be situated directly above a load bearing cross member. Good choice for a spot Sheldon."

Penny thought Sheldon might have just had a stroke while the guys just stared in awe at their new friend Coop. She also came to the conclusion that George Cooper was an expert when it came to dealing with Sheldon.

"Please Sheldon. Take your seat." George said while getting up to move. He knew full well he may have just gave Sheldon an aneurysm. "It's your house and I'm your guest." He started to take a seat in Sheldon's computer desk chair knowing full well this would drive Sheldon up the wall too. Sheldon started to protest to this and George got up before his butt even hit the chair, went over to where Gina and Penny were sitting at the kitchen island, leapt up and sat on it while letting his legs dangle towards the ground.

"Sheldon, I didn't care about "your spot" at home when we were kids so give me a break now and let me get this off my chest." George mockingly pleaded. Penny noticed that Sheldon uncharacteristically softened at this. She figured Sheldon knew when to cut is losses when dealing with George.

"Sheldon…" George started, really talking to everyone in the room, but never looking away from Sheldon. "Gina and I have decided to move back to the US."

"You're giving up your position at Oxford?" Sheldon asked.

"No, not really." George continued, "Oxford is going to let me work in conjunction with Cal Tech on my gravitational research as how it works in conjunction with your String Theory research. The only way I could convince them of this was the prospect of the Cooper brothers working together. Gablehauser agreed and I asked him to keep it between us until I could talk to you about it. Anything I work on independently, credit will go to Oxford with a byline of cooperation going to Cal Tech. Anything we work on together, credit will be shared. If it's something I've helped you with, then a byline to me and Oxford"

"You're coming to Cal Tech?" Sheldon seemed to be having trouble grasping the news he was just given.

"Yes. As a visiting professor…which means I'll have to teach some classes." George said cementing the idea to all in the room.

"What will you teach?" Wolowitz asked, excited be the news that George Cooper was coming to Cal Tech.

"Beginning college algebra." George said it while shooting a sideways glance at Sheldon.

"That's just ridiculous." Sheldon said raising his voice in disbelief.

"How so?" puzzled the older Cooper.

"George, you are one of the most brilliant minds walking and talking today. It would be like having Albert Einstein teaching arithmetic to toddlers." Sheldon said, still trying to come to terms with everything he had been told.

Taken back by the unexpected compliment from his brother, George retorted, "Sheldon, if someone like me was to jump in and show people from the beginning that math and science are more than those painfully boring classes you have to take just to finish your degree, then maybe more people would be interested in the harder sciences. And besides, it's the only class Cal Tech needs a teacher for at the moment. I actually tried to get Gablehauser to let me teach something in the art department, but he was definitely not going for it."

"When would all of this happen?" Leonard asked from the armchair.

"Two weeks." Gina chirped in.

George went on to explain that he and Gina had been talking about moving back to the states for a couple years so they could be closer to both their families, but that neither of them wanted to go back to east Texas. With the problem of the arctic expedition and the trouble the guys were about to find themselves in, George and Gina decided that this was as good a time as any to head home to the US.

"Sheldon." George solemnly said, "I also want to help you work on String Theory. You're getting close, but its time you brought in some help. I'm not looking to take over anything, but I think with your research and some of my theories on gravitational lensing and loop quantum theory, together we may very well prove this in our lifetimes."

"George…" Sheldon didn't get to finish

"I'm not here to take it from you Sheldon," George interrupted before Sheldon could continue. "I want to work on something with you. You've wanted a Nobel since you were nine years old and you know I've never really cared if I won one or not." This was true, George Cooper had never been out to win a Nobel. The goal of his research had always been to do science for the purity of it. If you asked him the best scientists had never won one and some of those people were his friends. If you asked him privately, away from Sheldon, he would admit he thought the award was too coveted among members of the scientific community and skewed too many people's research.

"Sheldon, Edmund Hillary didn't make it up Everest without help and whether you want to admit it or not, you, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, are going to need help to get up your own Everest of String Theory. I promise, I'll take the role of Tenzing Norgay when comes to your research. Helping with your work may provide valuable insight into mine."

Sheldon was aware the George had not only made a valid point, but had also cleverly backed him into a corner. He knew with the debacle of the arctic trip his research had stalled and he would need others to help him in future endeavors that were not his three friends. He had forgiven them this trespass, but was not about to offer them another opportunity.

"George, I can't tell you what to do, but if there is anyone I would want to work with it would be someone who was able to match my intelligence. And since there are only ten other people who can do that, I find your offer acceptable." Sheldon wanted to seem like he was giving permission, but knew full well George was going to do whatever he wanted. "As long as you're really not here to keep tabs on me for Mom and Memaw."

"I'm not here to spy on you Sheldon. I'll be at the university and Gina will be working on MMA training." The last part of that sentence George said with defeat in his voice while a little smile crossed Gina's lips. Penny could see the triumph in the little grin Gina flashed hidden away from her husband. Howard, Raj and Leonard all looked quizzically at the two women as they sat drinking wine and giggling.

"Where are you going to live, Dr. Cooper?" Raj finally asked taking a tug from his beer.

"Well," George said, scratching his beard, "I hear apartment 5A is available."


	9. Chapter 9

The news of his brother not only coming to teach and work at Cal Tech, but also moving in one floor up from his apartment took Sheldon several days to process. It took Wolowitz considerably less. By the following Monday morning Wolowitz had told everyone in the physics department that George Cooper was coming to town. The news spread through Cal Tech like wild fire and there had been inquiries from a few industry publications about the news Dr. George Cooper was going to be working with the other Dr. Cooper. In the meantime George and Gina had returned to England to finish some personal business and make final arrangements to have their stuff shipped to Pasadena. Penny noticed how quietly apprehensive Sheldon had become when he came into the Cheesecake Factory for his usual hamburger on his usual hamburger night. She wanted desperately to talk to him, but the table was buzzing with Howard, Leonard and Raj excitedly talking about when "Coop" would finally be starting. It wasn't until Thursday she got a chance to talk to Sheldon by himself.

"Whatcha up to sweetie?" She chirped at him.

"Oh Penny," He responded as if he hadn't seen her in quite some time. "I'm currently going over my schedule so that I can make time for George and me to go over each other's research when he returns." Penny noticed that Sheldon seemed to shrink down inside himself when the topic of his brother came up.

"Anything I can help you with?" Penny asked knowing full well the answer would be no.

"Actually yes." Sheldon's response took her by surprise as she had already turned half way around to exit the apartment. "Would it be possible for you to give me a ride to work tomorrow? Leonard is a little too eager for George to look over some of his work and his inane babbling is starting to wear thin." Penny realized that it must be difficult for Sheldon to constantly listen to people go on and on about his brother while trying so hard to get out from under his shadow.

"I don't mind Sheldon, but can I ask you a question?" Penny saw her opening and wanted to take it. She still hadn't forgot how he touched her hand the other day. "What happened in the arctic? Why is George here to help you guys? I know I should probably understand more, but I've been trying not to pry."

Sheldon looked down. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell Penny that his older brother was here to pull his posterior out of a fire that he didn't start. He had hoped his paper would have just been passed off as an experiment that didn't achieve the expected results, that there was more numbers needing crunching, after all this happened in the scientific community all the time. Instead Sheldon told Penny the truth and hoped she wouldn't be mad. There was always the fear she would go junior rodeo.

"When we were in the arctic, Leonard "played a prank" as he put it. Howard and Raj weren't necessarily in on it, but they also didn't tell me anything about it. The "prank" was Leonard using a microwave that changed the magnetic field of the area we were testing. It made it look as if the data showed strong evidence of monopoles in arctic ice." Sheldon let the confession flow out and hoped Penny was following along. "In my excitement I sent a letter to Dr. Gablehauser stating that not only did our data show strong evidence of monopoles, but that also this would corroborate my research and that I was about to prove String Theory. It wasn't until we returned here to Pasadena that Leonard told me about the prank and I had to send a retraction to Gablehauser. What Leonard, Howard and Raj don't know is that I was called into see Gablehauser to explain my retraction. I took the blame and said I had misinterpreted the data, in my haste, and jumped the proverbial gun, so to speak. I took the blame to protect their careers and played dumb to protect mine. What I didn't realize was that so many people were looking at the research. George did and came here to talk to us. Which seems to be his reason for also moving here. He's trying to use his reputation to protect mine. I suspect that he's protecting Leonard, Howard and Raj by default. And to be frank, my reputation and even my career could be on the line. My reputation as a scientist has certainly taken a down turn. My hope was that people would pass it off as something that needed more experimentation, but the evidence is too damning to ignore."

Penny took all this in. She never knew the guys would do something like this. Not to mention blowing it off when they returned. Sheldon wasn't one to talk openly about these sorts of things, even with his closest friends which only illustrated the seriousness of the problem.

"Howard, Raj and Leonard," Sheldon continued, "Think George is here and he'll make everything alright. None of them, not even me, realized how this could blow back on us."

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry." Penny stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Sheldon's waist. Penny braced herself for the moment he would pull away in shock and was surprised when he didn't.

"Thank you Penny." Sheldon patted her on the shoulder and she knew that was all he could think of to do. She could tell he was uncomfortable, but was curious as to why he wasn't pulling away. Finally she let him go and hoped that a little human contact would make him feel better, but she knew he was going to go disinfect himself in the bathroom as soon as she left.

"Well I'm here if you need anything and I'll see you bright and earlier in the morning." She twinkled back to Sheldon and kicked up her heel as she returned to her apartment.

"Penny wait." Sheldon blurted. "Would you like to watch a movie after dinner? The guys are going bar hopping again."

"Sure, love to." Penny shot back. "Holy crap on a cracker" was the thought running through her head as she closed her apartment door.


	10. Chapter 10

The next couple of weeks came and went quietly. George and Gina had settled into their apartment and, in an effort to maintain Sheldon's sanity, had the workers and painters and decorators come and go while Sheldon was at work. George could only imagine what it would be like if Sheldon had had to listen to noise from workers when the smell of the paint alone was causing him to complain relentlessly. Sheldon had done his part by helping George get settled into Cal Tech and meet people. George was more than happy to be "shown around" by his little brother though he was fairly certain he could figure out how to interact with the people in the physics department, he knew that this activity was more for Sheldon's benefit than his own. It was the meeting with Gablehauser that had the guys worried, but they realized that there had been no need. George ran the whole meeting, letting people take credit and blame where it was due while subtly steering the conversation the way he wanted it to go. If anyone, other than Sheldon, in the room picked up on this they made no indication of it. Gablehauser and Siebert where just happy to have someone of Dr. George Cooper's reputation here working on the problem at their university.

Outside of the university, life at 2311 North Los Robles Ave had, for the most part, return to the semblance of normal. George and Gina dropped in a couple nights a week to hang out and Gina and Penny often found themselves hanging out on Tuesday since it turned out George Cooper was a bigger comic enthusiast than his brother. In fact if the guys from 4A were geeks on a scale of one through 10, they would be a 7 maybe 8, George on the other hand was a 10 approaching eleven. His knowledge of pop culture and anything that could be considered "nerd culture" surpassed the boys from across the hall. Penny was charmed to find out what Gina already knew, superhero and pop icon t-shirts were considered high fashion to the Cooper brothers. At least George would wear jeans with his. It was at these times that Penny saw just how much the Brothers Cooper were alike and at those times her heart would ache a little wishing Sheldon had that little extra something George had. They were both demanding and highly attached to their routines, but George was able to function with people better, not eat the same foods week after week and mostly be able to maintain his disposition when everything didn't go his way. Penny thought of George as Sheldon grown up, as if he had made it over some coming of age hurdle that Sheldon must have tripped on.

It was a cool morning that Penny found herself awake in bed at 5:00 am. She had been thinking of Sheldon which lead to frustration as it always did and decide to burn off some steam. She dressed quickly in mismatched exercise clothes, who was going to see her this early anyway, and headed for her front door. Walking out into the space between 4A and 4B she saw George Cooper heading down the stairs.

"Morning Penny." His voice was cheery enough to make her puke. She always had trouble getting up early and secretly envied those who could. "What gets you up this early?"

"Couldn't sleep so thought I'd take a run?" She groggily responded starting to think twice about her decision to be up. It came out of her mouth as a question to herself more than an answer to George's question.

"Care to join me? I usually walk three or four miles before I get ready for work." George smiled knowing this was not the time of day Penny usually found herself up and about. "Just walking though, gives me a chance to think about research and clear my head for the day."

"Sure, if you don't think I'll bother you." Penny said. "Is it okay to talk to one another? Sheldon usually doesn't want to talk when he's going over his work."

"Sheldon usually doesn't want to talk, period." George chuckled. "But yes, it's perfectly okay to talk. Out of the group you're the one I've gotten to know the least."

As they exited the building the morning air was cool and crisp and there was very little traffic. Penny had not known it too be this quiet in Pasadena, but then again she usually wasn't outside walking around this time of day.

"How's everything going with your new job?" Penny asked not really sure of what conversation to make.

"Good. Really Good. Everyone was a little fan boyish around me, especially Wolowitz, but everyone has been really great. Problem is there aren't many people outside Sheldon I can talk to about my research." George's voice was warm and easy to listen to. "Luckily I don't have to start teaching until next semester so I've got plenty of time to settle in."

"Do you work on String Theory too?" Penny asked not knowing exactly what this Dr. Cooper did and knew even less about physics.

"No, not really. My research is about…" He stumbled over what to say.

"Trying to dumb it down for me?" Penny retorted.

"Not at all. It's just that in laymen's terms it's difficult to express what I do. Essentially it's how gravity became uniform in the earliest moments of the Big Bang."

"Oh. That wasn't so hard." Penny smiled.

"Well it's easier to understand if I put it that way then instead of saying I study gravity omni-field cohesion at low vacuum high temperature states and how it relates to dark matter interacting with massless objects i.e. neutrinos." He smiled back.

The walk went quicker than Penny expected. George talked the whole way and she hung on his every word. She couldn't believe they had made it three and a half miles, but George's Fitbit confirmed it.

"I'm sorry Penny. I did all the talking. Tell me a little about yourself." He sat down on the little wooden bench that was in front of their building.

"Not much to tell really." She was disappointed that that was how she truly felt. Little Penny, girl from Nebraska, not much else.

"I seriously doubt that." He spoke, "Gina tells me you moved out here all on your own to become an actress."

"Well yeah..." she tossed her hands up not really wanting to talk to about herself.

"Penny. If I may be so frank. It is something. Going out and trying to take the world on is a big deal." His voice was low and she knew that what he was saying was for her benefit. "A lot of people never have that type of courage. Let me tell you something. Every Tuesday for the last ten years Sheldon and I have exchanged emails. At first it was mostly work and I would ask him how everyone was doing back home. He would talk about his research and I mine and he would tell me stories about Leonard, Howard and Raj. I know full well what my brother is like to those who don't know him. I was thrilled that he was talking about people in his emails like they were friends. He had made friends, people he liked, as best as Sheldon can like someone I thought." Penny warmed as George spoke of Sheldon. "But about a year or so ago the emails changed. Sheldon spoke of the new neighbor. The one that sat in his spot and pushed his boundaries just by being herself. The girl across the hall who infuriated him, but he spoke about all the time. The girl across the hall became Penny in his emails and Penny from his emails became Sheldon's best friend."

Penny's heart thumped in her chest, "What are you saying?"

George Cooper looked at her as the sun slowly lightened the sky above them. "Penny would you mind coming over this evening for dinner with Gina and I? We probably need to talk."

"About what?" Penny found herself a little lost in the conversation at that moment

George Cooper raised up of the bench and headed for the front door. Turning his head back over his shoulder he laughed back at her like his response was the most obvious thing in the world, "For one, I guess about my brother being in love with you."


	11. Chapter 11

"What the hell?" Penny just shrugged her shoulders as Gina opened the door. She had been walking in a trance for most of the day. Her shift at the Cheesecake Factory went by in a blur and she wasn't even upset about the lousy tips. Her thoughts all circled around George Cooper and the way he so casually tossed out the prospect of Sheldon being in love. First of all, Sheldon Cooper, Ph. D doesn't even think love is real. If "Coop" thought he was being clever with his sly little remark he was about to get a taste of a Nebraska Junior Rodeo ass kicking.

"I know, I know." Gina said as soon as Penny finished, shoving a glass of wine into Penny's hand. "When he told me what he said I just about punched him in the throat." Gina was continuing to apologize.

"But…" Penny couldn't verbalize all the thoughts running through her head.

"Sit down and let's talk." Gina continued, gently coxing Penny into 5A.

George walked into the living area from his office in the back. Since he and Gina didn't need the spare bedroom they had turned in into an office for them to share and the little cubby area by the window into a reading lounge.

"Hey Penny." He said it so casually that she wanted to just punch him in the mouth.

"Seriously George?" Gina threw it across the room in an accusatory tone.

"What'd I do?" Shrugging his shoulders through his vintage Star Wars shirt.

"That load of crap you dropped on Penny this morning. We agreed to get to know her and then talk to her about some of the reasons we moved here." Gina looked like she couldn't believe she was having to have this conversation again.

"What are you two talking about?" Penny realized that the two of them had always had some motive when it came to her.

"Sit down and we'll start from the beginning." Gina gently said trying her best to make Penny feel welcomed. "George, you start."

"Penny." Starting slow he continued as if all of this wasn't completely obvious. "Gina and I moved here for various reasons. In fact about twenty-seven reasons to be truthful. We both wanted to be closer to family and such, but the fact of the matter is I have started to see slight fissures in some of Sheldon's work. The whole debacle in the arctic, though not his fault, is the kind of thing that can ruin someone's career. He's also been having troubling moving on in advancing his other String Theory research." George's eyes peered directly into Penny's. "Nothing about that is all that alarming really expect when he starting talking about you."

"Huh…?" Penny just sat still.

"Bear with him." Gina said putting her hand on Penny's shoulder.

"People like Sheldon," George continued "or me for that matter, often find that they have a hard time fitting in with others. After a while, people on the high end of the intelligence scale tend to "crack" as it were. You've probably heard stories of professors who sold everything to open a dog washing business or started to just come to work naked. My main reason for being here is to keep that from happening to my brother." The serious, yet caring tone really starting to come through to Penny. "I don't want him to keep striving for something to happen in his research and that thing, whatever it is, never come to pass. To become so singularly minded that as time goes on the realization of it never happening causes him to go…loopy. Or for someone's interference to cause him to stumble."

"Do you think I would cause that or something?" Penny questioned. She started to feel a tear in her eye.

"Absolutely not." Gina weighed in.

Sitting down in the chair across from them, "No Penny. I think you might be the thing that prevents that from happening. Sheldon will most likely not prove String Theory. I would never tell him that, but chances are he could beat his head against the wall for another twenty or so years and not be any closer. It may be that Sheldon's research is the building block for someone else to prove it. When I realized that someone must have screwed with his data in the arctic I immediately made arrangements to come here and work with him. That type of setback is the kind of thing that can "break" a high functioning intellect."

"We wanted to come here and make sure he was going to be alright." Gina soothed to Penny.

"I…" Penny still trying to take all this in.

"Penny, my brother is possibly one of the five highest function intellects on the planet. People like him wear an armor, so to speak, around them. His routine, his dietary habits…all of it. Its armor. It gives him control over things and frees his mind up to work on his research. I know it's hard to understand, but I'm the same way. Our brains don't shut off. Since I've been talking to you I've also been going over formula variables for Hawking Radiation and what I'm getting for Gina for Valentine's Day."

"You haven't got me anything yet?" Gina sparked up. George just glanced back at her.

"Sheldon stays up all night sometimes right?" George asked.

Penny shook her head up and down.

"You've seen him work until he makes himself sick, right?" George asked.

"Yes," Penny said, "That's usually when I have to sing him Soft Kitty."

"What?" Both George and Gina said to her wide eyed.

"I sing Sheldon Soft Kitty when he's sick." Penny just stared at them both, feeling she must have said something wrong. "What's wrong with that?"

"Penny. How do you feel about my brother?" George asked flatly.

"He's my best friend. Yes, he's a giant pain in the ass, but he's also generous and kind to me. He doesn't treat me like a blonde bimbo. He's always respectful and I annoy him as much as he annoys me, but…I don't…its special between us. We've had a connection since I first walked into his apartment. I didn't really act upon it after I got to know him better because I realized he would never feel the same about me." Penny felt like the world was just taken off her back. She had never voiced this to herself much less anyone else.

"Penny did he ask you to sing Soft kitty to him?" Gina question softly.

"Yes…he had the flu or something and the guys snuck off and abandoned him." Penny responded feeling the need to defend herself.

"Penny. Do you know what Soft Kitty is?" George now asked. His face was soft and concerned. It looked as if he was getting ready to tell a small child Santa didn't exist.

"Umm...it's a song you guys used to sing to him when he was sick. Right?" Penny really feeling she needed to defend herself now.

"No Penny. Soft Kitty is Sheldon's first and only pet." George's face softened. "It was an old barn cat that lived at my grandmother's house. It used to come up to Sheldon when he was little. It was one of the only things in this world that could soothe his anxiety when he was younger." The large man leaned forward and took Penny's hand and she felt Gina put her arm around her shoulder. "My grandmother came up with the song to help calm him and make him feel better after the cat passed away. That's when he started to make my mom and grandmother sing it to him. No one but those two have ever even been allowed to sing it to him. I've never sang it and he would never let Missy sing it either." At this point Penny was barely holding back her tears as the slow realization of what Sheldon had asked her to do really meant to him. "Penny, do you know what my mother and grandmother have in common from Sheldon's standpoint?" George asked. She shook her head back and forth. "They are the only two people my brother loves."

"Now hold on…" Penny tried to interrupt.

"Don't get him wrong honey." Gina piped in. "Sheldon, in his own way, cares for all of us."

"But the only people I know Sheldon to love, really love, is my mother and grandmother." George finished. "And now it would seem you may have something in common with them. Do you know he is the only one that calls my grandmother Meemaw? That's why he only wants her to call him Moonpie. She has never had a pet name for Missy or me. You call him Sweetie, but haven't you noticed he doesn't have a problem with it and he makes everyone else call him Sheldon. Hell, he gets pissed if missy or I call him Shelly."

"Hang on. Are you telling me that after all this time Sheldon might be in love with me. Sheldon doesn't even believe love is real." Penny started to rail back.

"Well love is not much different biochemically than large amounts of chocolate, but..." His train of thought starting to wonder off into a long scientific explanation.

"Shut up George." Gina snapped him out of his rant before he could begin. "Honey. Sheldon let you sing him Soft Kitty because he cares about you. How you proceed with that information is up to you. George and I are here to help Sheldon and if either of you want our help in this, we'll be glad to do what we can. And whatever that is, you know what Sheldon is like. So we both believe you'll handle it the right way."

Penny just slumped back on the couch. The weight of everything that was said seemed to feel like it was physically pushing her body down into the leather cushions. George got up and refilled her wine glass and smiled.

"Sorry to drop all that on you, but there's one more question I need to ask you." A sly little smirk crossed his bearded face.

"George. Now?" Gina tossed back at her husband as she raised up to head to the kitchen to finish dinner.

"Yup." It was his only response.

"I don't think I can take any more surprises tonight." Penny sounded exhausted as she said it and downed the rest of the wine in her glass.

"Well maybe later then" He responded.

"Oh hell, you might as well ask me. How much weirder can it get?" Penny raised up to go help Gina in the kitchen and to get more wine.

George looked at her across the room. "You want a job?"


	12. Chapter 12

"What?" Penny just looked at George with an expression that spoke volumes about how tired she was of having him drop bombs on her. It was quickly becoming one of his more annoying traits and she had just about had all of the surprises she could stand for the week.

"It turns out I'm going to be in need of an assistant." He said as everyone sat down to the island George and Gina used as a dining room table. "Gablehauser has decided the university would be better served if I put on a lecture once or so a month. Something formal in the evenings that he can sell tickets to. I told him I would give one formal lecture a month under two conditions. One, I get to give free lectures to students during the day and hold Q&A's afterwards."

"Ok..." Penny was starting to wonder where this was all leading.

"Secondly, I get to have an assistant to help with scheduling and PR and all the other hoops Gablehauser and Siebert can come up with for me to jump through." George smiled like a super villain and that was when Penny knew for sure something was up. It was the same creepy smile that Sheldon had every time he thought of something dastardly, but with George it really did come off as twisted.

"Of for the love of…George just tell her what you're thinking." Gina had an exasperated look on her face while taking a bite of salad.

"Why me?" Penny chimed in before George Cooper could continue.

"Okay Penny, here's the deal. Gablehauser found out why I'm here thanks to some little troll called Winkle." Penny recognized the name as George continued. "I think she has some personal gear to grind against Sheldon. Anyway Gablehauser has it in his head that I'm his new little show pony and wants to put me on display." The Texas drawl was starting to come out in his voice. "So I'll do the dance if I have to, but not without getting something in return."

"And what would that be?" Penny eased into the question.

George looked at Gina across the table questioningly. Gina raised her head up and looked at Penny. "George hates dealing with the PR stuff that comes with his job. He basically wants you to handle dealing with the magazines and publications that are always calling him. It also doesn't hurt that you're a young attractive female." Gina emphasized the last part of the sentence. "Penny, take it from a woman who was worked in the scientific field, being an attractive, single minded woman will have most of these men eating out of your hand. Let's face it, most of these guys are troglodytes and scared of anything with two boobs. This will help grease some of the wheels in academia. Essentially he wants you to be charming to people. Trust me, most of them are nothing like Wolowitz."

"Well there's Kripke." George interrupted.

"I think Penny can handle him without a problem." Gina continued glancing away from her husband and back to Penny. "I told George he would need to explain why and that I though you wouldn't have a problem with it. If this Winkle person can be a troll and still use her charms effectively, well they won't know what hit them when you show up. It also doesn't hurt that Winkle is always giving Sheldon grief and it would be nice to have someone around on Sheldon's side. The other three do very little to stand up for themselves much less each other."

"What would I be expected to do?" Penny was becoming intrigued.

"Simple stuff. Keeping my office in check and reminding me of what's on my schedule…" George started.

"Good luck." Gina smiled and went back to eating salad.

George rolled his eyes. "Also getting quotes for publications and setting up times I can do interviews. Just basic stuff. Oh and to use that Nebraska charm to keep Gablehauser off my ass. And also keeping fanboys out of my way. I don't mind meeting people and talking, but I don't need to look at every paper every grad student has written. I've been given the chance to spend a good deal of my time working on my research and that's what I hope to do."

"Well not to be blunt but how much money are we talking about here?" Penny held her breath for the answer hoping this could possibly be a new avenue and a way out of the Cheesecake Factory.

"$850 a week with…" George had started.

"Done." Penny spit it out as quickly as he had started. She already knew she was going to say yes she was just waiting to see if she was going to have to still waitress on the weekends.

"…medical benefits and reduced tuition for any classes you might want to take." George slowly finished. "There is one condition I would like you to know before you really say yes."

"Oh, okay." Penny was apprehensive now.

"I can most likely get your tuition for free, so I want you to take some classes. Your choice as to what you want to take and I will work with your schedule, but I think it is an opportunity you could benefit from and a bit of a deal breaker if you don't."

"Are you kidding me?" Penny jumped up from her seat and hugged both George and Gina. "Thank you, thank you, and thank you. Why are you doing this for me?" She asked beginning to get teary eyed.

"I told George you were disappointed that you never got to finish community college. He decided to stick it to Gablehauser while he had him bent over a barrel so to speak." Gina said hugging Penny back.

"It's my pleasure Penny." George muffled through Penny's arm as she continued the hug.

"When would you like me to start?" Penny asked.

"This coming Monday, if that's possible?" Gina answered for George who was sticking pasta in his mouth.

"Absolutely. That would be wonderful." Penny beamed. "Is there anything I need to buy, like certain clothing or anything?"

"Well you need to have an advanced understanding of quantum physics." George replied flatly looking at his food.

"Uhhh…" Penny panicked a little inside.

"Just kidding." George smiled while still looking at his food. "Dress business casual and I'll provide you with a laptop to do everything on."

"Yes, whatever you wear just try to look more professional than a Deadpool t-shirt, jeans and Nikes." Gina said in between bites of her tenderloin. "At least one of you should look like you know what you're doing." Gina smiled warmly at Penny.

Later on the two women sat of the couch sipping wine while George Cooper offered to clean the dishes. They laughed and talked about how excited Penny was since she had never done anything like this. Gina was happy to see her new friend, and one of the only people she could call that in her new life in California, happy. Penny was gushing back at how she couldn't believe George and Gina were being so generous and nice to her.

"Are you okay with this?" Penny said it quietly in a low tone to Gina.

"Absolutely honey." Gina whispered back so George wouldn't hear. "I think you'll do just fine."

"And you don't have a problem with George being around another woman all day?" Penny asked.

"Are you telling me there's a reason I should be?" Gina retorted, her expression changing.

"No, no, no. It's just that a lot of women wouldn't be okay with their husbands having a younger assistant around them all day." Penny felt like she just shot herself in the foot.

"Honey, if you're okay being around George then I think its fine." Gina softened back to Penny. "Let me tell you that I've had my fair share of undergrads and postgrads throw their trashy little asses at him, but I love my husband and I know he loves me, so I don't worry."

Penny felt relieved at this. She had no intention of screwing this opportunity up in any way.

"Besides, if you do try to pull something I'm pretty sure I could dispose of the body without any trouble. Oceans are big aren't they?" Gina smiled back and Penny's chuckle became a laugh as she realized Gina was teasing. "If there is a problem with some skanky little student though I do hope you would tell me. George is oblivious to those sorts of things."

"Really?" Penny responded.

"Oh girl, hell yes. There was a student a few years ago who came to Oxford to attend some lectures. He was so clueless that she was hitting on him, even in front of me that she waited for him in his office naked. Crazy girl was ranting something about him being a Cooper or something and wanting him to co-author a paper."

"What the hell?" Penny was stunned.

"Scientists have groupies too. Girl's name was Ramona Nowitzki or something like that." Gina just shook her head as she relived the ordeal in her mind's eye.

"Holy shit." Penny slapped Gina on the leg. "That's the girl who tried to reel in Sheldon. Took over his life for about two weeks. Holy Shit."

"Holy shit." Gina expelled as her mouth dropped open.

"She's gone now and hopefully stays that way." Penny said softening and looking directly at Gina. "Gina, thank you for everything you're doing for me."

"Anytime honey. It really has been our pleasure." Gina said softly. Turns out both Coopers had Vulcan-like hearing. "Being at the university, do you think you'll want to "bump" into Sheldon a little more?"

"I haven't even thought about it," Penny said, "But maybe that wouldn't be a bad idea."


	13. Chapter 13

After a couple of weeks had passed, Penny had acclimated herself to her new job rather well. She never thought being Dr. George Cooper's assistant would be quite so demanding. After only a couple days she had come to the realization of just how prominent George, as he insisted on being called by her, was in the scientific communities. She knew she'd have to take messages and get quotes for several different publications, but she never knew she'd be trying to schedule interviews with CNN, NPR and requests from NASA and the White House. To George it was just a normal day at work, he shrugged it off as if he was being asked to give a quote of something to some small town newspaper that no one has ever heard of.

"So how's in going over at the university?" Gina asked while kicking a bag. Penny had come over to see her new found friend at her gym while she was training. Penny was more than a little intimidated from the amount of power Gina was putting into the kicks and the thuds the bag made every time she struck it with her leg.

"Good. Great really." Penny piqued up a little. "Everyone has been really nice and George keeps me on my toes."

"He'll do that to you." Gina said through her boxing gloves to Penny as she changed from kicking the weight bag to punching it. Gina knew exactly how her husband could be and had an understanding of what Penny was going through. She herself had at one time too been Dr. George Cooper's assistant. "And the guys…no trouble there?"

"Not really," Penny shot back over the sounds of the leather gloves hitting the leather bag. "At first they were a little weird, but they settled down when they realized I wasn't going to embarrass them. And since I'm George's assistant I get a little of his celebrity by proxy. It's a lot like high school was. They want to hang with who they perceive as the "cool kid". In fact everyone treats me really well once they realize who I am, like being nice to me will get them one step closer to George."

"How about faculty and administration? Siebert and Gablehauser?" Gina took a long drink of water as she had taken a break and sat down to talk to Penny.

"Both are fine. They seem to be worried that George won't find something to his liking and think about leaving." Penny sat down on the bench next to Gina. "As long as I give them an updated email every couple of days, they seem to stay out of his way now."

"Good. George has been wanting to find a place where he can do his work and be left relatively alone." Gina took another long swig out of her water bottle. "This move was good for him, it was good for us."

Penny reached down out of her satchel ad pulled out some paperwork. One thing she had had to become accustom to was carry a satchel, not a purse, a satchel. It was for function and work. It held her small laptop, organizers, paperwork and all the other little things she needed to manage the schedule of one of the world's foremost intellectuals. She felt more like one of the guys since they all carried satchels, in fact it was the guys who helped her pick it out. It was quite the debate over how functional it should be. It was Sheldon's choice she agreed with most. He had chosen one that not only was functional, but as he had to remind the others it was for Penny, so it also had to be stylish. Gina took the paperwork, signed it and handed it back to Penny.

"Well it's finally official. We are living back in the states." Gina rose up, gave Penny a little hug with a twinge of sadness in her eye and went back to kicking and punching the weight bag. This time with a little extra force.


	14. Chapter 14

"What the hell Sheldon?" George Cooper barked across the room at his brother.

"There's no need to curse George. I'm simply fixing this equation." Sheldon got it out as fast as he could.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with that equation…and you know it." George had missed being around his brother, but as ever was infuriated at how difficult he could be.

"I know that." Sheldon said it so flatly that it was more a declaration of the mundane that a defense of what he had done. "Your hand writing is still atrocious."

The two brothers had gone back to working oblivious of the fact that the back three rows of the lecture hall were filled with people just wanting to watch them work. Not just students or grad assistants either. More than couple professors from various departments had "just happen to be walking by" and found their way in.

That's how Penny found the lecture hall when she entered, round fifty people in the back watching two men that were not paying them slightest bit of attention.

"You!" George pointed. "Tall kid in the green hoodie. Come here." George ordered nonchalantly.

The nervous, but yet excited under grad stood up and headed down the stairs. Sheldon quickly looked at some writing on the paper he was holding and looked at George.

If they want to watch they might as well help." George said as he took the lanky kid in the green hoodie by the shoulders and told him to stand still.

"Ok then…" was Sheldon's only retort. "You there." He pointed at a small girl that had been several seats over from the other student. "Would you mind coming down here?" The girl got up and sprinted down the stairs to Sheldon. He was about to take her by the shoulders and move her where he wanted her positioned but quickly thought better of it and instead simply pointed at a spot on the ground and said "here please".

"Wolowitz and Penny. Front and center please." George hollered out without looking their direction. Both came down the stairs.

"Penny can you grab your laptop and get Professor Belkin on Skype for me please." George almost always spoke to Penny with a professional tone. "Wolowitz, I need a boom box or loud speaker of some sort. Quick quick." Penny started getting out her laptop and Howard bolted off down the hall to who-knows-where as fast as his little legs would take him. Sheldon started to become a little apprehensive when he heard what his brother had requested from Penny and Howard. George was well known for being what Sheldon would call a "wild child". He would often grab people out of audiences and use props to give a visual representation of the theories he was discussing on stage. He had actually become a must see for the students at Oxford and the lecture halls would often be packed. Once George Cooper got going, it was all spectacle.

"George. Good to hear from you. What can I do for you?" the gentile man said on the screen of Penny's laptop. Dr. Howard Belkin was plump and full of character. An overweight Colonel Sanders at first glance, but yet the charm of a devil. "How are you as well Penny?" Belkin said without missing a beat. Penny liked that the people George often dealt with always treated her like she was in the room. Sometimes the guys in the apartment across the hall didn't.

"I'm doing well Professor Belkin. How are you?" Penny said smiling into the screen.

"Sweetie, now that I've seen you, well let's just say my day has gotten a whole mess better." Belkin said with as much southern charm as anyone could muster while throwing her a wink.

"Howard. I want to demonstrate something for you and get your feedback. Once the speaker gets here." George interrupted the southern gentleman's passing flirtations with his assistant. "It's going to be loud so Penny is emailing you a formula." George looked to Penny as Wolowitz came running back down the stairs. "Penny. If you please." Penny sent the email.

"Any particular song?" asked Wolowitz plugging his phone into the little red portable speak he had found.

"You can't always get what you want by the Stones please." George said walking back over to the kid in the green hoodie. "Stand absolutely still please." He said it flatly to the kids face. "Young lady stand right here and please put your right hand up." Both students were starting to become a little nervous at not know what they had signed up for.

"Ok. I'm looking at your formula and I think I see where this is heading." Belkin said. Penny for sure didn't know where it was going and from the looks of it neither did Sheldon. He just looked a little worried and a little embarrassed.

"Ready." Wolowitz announced.

"Sheldon. I want you to look at this and tell me what you see when we start. Leonard would you mind recording this on your phone please." George said this and everyone else noticed that Leonard, had in fact, entered the room.

"No problem." Leonard said, just happy to be involved.

George walked up to his brother, "Green hoodie is a supermassive black hole ok." Sheldon nodded. "This young lady is a gravitational wave, ok?" Sheldon nodded again and looked down at the formula, the same one Belkin had been emailed. "I want you to listen to the high and low pitch of the music and imagine the sound waves as neutrinos in Nth dimensional space, ok?"

What none of the people on the floor of the lecture had noticed has how many people had entered the room. Winkle and Kirpke had entered as well as Raj and most of the astrophysics department. Several people were tweeting and some were discreetly trying to take videos.

"Let's begin." George Cooper said point to Wolowitz. The sound of the boys' choir filled the lecture hall and George Cooper began to move in between the two undergrad students he and Sheldon had hijacked into their service. As Mick Jagger's voice came in George could be heard saying something to Sheldon and Dr. Belkin about gravitational lensing, but that wasn't what sparked Penny's interested. As soon as George said it both Sheldon and Belkin lit up like children on Christmas morning. Penny looked around the room and several of the other scientists' faces just looked star struck. George kept dancing around and waving his arms while the whole room came to terms with what he demonstrating. The music filled the lecture hall as George ordered Wolowitz to turn it up. More and more faces could be seen looking in from out in the hall and quite a group had gathered. Sheldon literally started jumping up and down and clapping, like he had got a new train set. The entire lecture hall was loud with applause. Belkin was clapping and laughing on the screen in front of Penny and it was then the whole room started cheering. Everyone that is except for Winkle.

"Brilliant!" shouted Belkin from the computer monitor. "How did you come up with it?"

"I didn't." George said to the computer screen. "Sheldon did. I just threw in my neutrino research from 2014. Sheldon had already done all the heavy lifting with the gravitational data he collected. But the idea is sound don't you think." George had motioned for Sheldon to join him and had even put his arm over Sheldon's shoulder, which clearly made Sheldon uncomfortable, but he tolerated it for the moment.

"Absolutely." Belkin was having to yell over all the noise from the crowd that had gathered behind the Cooper brothers. "Get this down on paper and let me know when you do. I'm coming to see you as soon as the calculations are constructed."

"Done and done. See you soon, Howard." George said as he closed the computer screen, "Sheldon, I'm taking you to dinner. We have a lot to talk about." George said straight into his brother's face. "No arguments, almost anywhere you want. Penny gather everyone up in our little group and call my wife and tell her where to meet us. I'm buying dinner." George pulled on Sheldon and they exited to the left side of the auditorium.

"That's physics bitches. Coopers out." George Cooper yelled as he exited the room waving one hand in the air.

"What just happened?" Penny asked Raj who had been standing next to her.

"I think Coop may have just proved that String Theory is the viable model over the loop quantum gravity model." Raj said just looking at the crowd of people still talking.

"Then what's wrong with Winkle?" Penny asked again to Raj. Winkle just sitting there with her face in her hands.

"Loop quantum gravity is what her grant is based on." Raj said with a smirk.

Penny smiled, took Raj by the arm and followed the Cooper brother's exit path and headed out to have dinner with her friends.


	15. Chapter 15

"So did you prove String Theory?" Penny asked in the general direction of George and Sheldon. At that moment everyone at the table stopped and look at her as if she had just passed gas quite audibly.

"Don't be silly, Penny" It was Sheldon that spoke from the crowd. To her astonishment he didn't say it in a condescending tone, more like a concerned friend and she realized at that moment Sheldon wanted her to understand. Sheldon wanted to "share" physics with Penny. That realization touched her and she smiled for such a brief moment that she noticed George was the only who saw it and he smiled. "What we've done Penny is show there is more evidence lending itself to String Theory than there is a loop quantum gravity model." Penny noticed Sheldon's hands were rubbing together which meant he was nervous which meant at that moment he was talking only to her.

"It's just one more step in the right direction" George said to the entire table as everyone went back to discussing what had happened in the lecture hall. The entire table was going on about how amazing this was or that was or they had never thought about it this way or that way. One thing that had shocked Penny was that before they left the campus to head to the restaurant, George had found Leslie Winkle and asked her to join them for dinner, much to Sheldon's protest.

"Sheldon...she has a better understanding of loop quantum gravity than you or I do. She's studied it for years. And let's face facts, loop quantum gravity is going to come into play at some point in our equations. I'm going to pick her brain and you're going to help."

Sheldon was going to put up a fight even if his brother was right. "She's not riding in the car with me." It was the only defense he could muster up.

"Fine, you ride with Penny." George said.

The table was buzzing in the little Chinese restaurant. Penny was impressed that a table full of scientist could cause a ruckus at what was essentially there local watering hole. She found herself enjoying being in a group of people who were passionately discussing ideas back and forth and bouncing everything off George and Sheldon. Both of whom were listening and bouncing ideas back to the group. She had no idea what they were talking about, but it was fun being involved in it none the less. It was in the middle of this intellectual fever that Penny saw George's face go absolutely white and stoic in a millisecond. Penny could feel George staring through her and into the space behind her. Penny turned to see Gina coming in the front door with half her face swollen and her eye socket bruised. Gina paused as George stood up, everyone now seeing the full size of his frame. George was by no means small and by no means out of shape. Everyone at the table became silent as he strode directly to her standing in the middle of the restaurant.

"Don't say anything." Gina said before George could get a word in. "It was my fault and hurts like a mule kick."

"Are you OK?" It was all he said.

"I'm sore…and it really was my fault." Gina reached down and took her husband's hand. She knew full well he might be a well-respected intellect, but she also knew men from Texas do not like their wives being struck in the face. Sporting accident or not.

"Okay." It was all he said as he led her across the restaurant and sat her next to him. It was at that moment Penny noticed Sheldon had taken the seat next to her letting Gina sit next to George. She could clearly see that Sheldon was worried about his sister-in-law but didn't know what to say. The table almost immediately went back to buzzing and Gina ordered herself something from the menu then excused herself to freshen up. Sheldon stood up from the table as Gina did and stopped, having no words to deal with this situation. George smiled at his brother and Gina smiled at him too. Penny stood up and squeezed Sheldon's shoulder and followed Gina to the restroom.

"So…how bad does the other son of a bitch look?" Penny said flatly with as much Nebraska as she could manage.

"I really should have ducked." Gina said flatly back with a smile.

"You really ok though?" This time Penny said it with meaning.

"Yes, but I need your help…please" Gina quietly pleaded and Penny knew she wouldn't refuse. "I don't know how much of George and Sheldon's childhood you know about." Gina looked directly at Penny looking for some kind of recognition.

"Not much really." Was all Penny could come up with to say.

"Their dad was, well a bit of a drinker let's say." Gina continued, "There were a couple of incidents were

he…roughed up Mary. Left her with a black eye." Penny just took this in with a mix of shock and denial.

She didn't want to believe these men had to see something like that. Didn't want to believe something like that was in their past. "Well George has been about that size since he was 14 and the last time he just didn't sit by." Gina continued, "From what I've been able to put together George made sure his father never laid a hand on his mother again. George went off to college shortly after the incident and George Cooper Sr. proceeded to drink himself to the grave."

"Holy shit…" Penny couldn't finish the sentence.

"It's okay." Gina comforted. "The man just couldn't forgive himself for what he had done, but Mary had. They don't talk about it and I never bring it up."

"Gina what…" Penny stammered on with what she had just learned.

"My point is, George will be fine. I'm fine." Gina paused, "Just help Sheldon, this has to bring somethings up from his past that may be a little hard to deal with. Let's be blunt, Sheldon is not equip to deal with this because of his childhood."

"Okay." It was all Penny could get out while she tried to process.

"Thank you, Penny" Gina came close and the two women hugged in the bathroom.

"It really was just an accident." Gina said as they left the ladies room.

Walking back to the table Gina saw that Sheldon had sat next to George and the larger man was clearly comforting his little brother. As she approached Sheldon stood up and moved to her.

"Gina, are you alright?" Sheldon asked as he looked to the floor.

"I'm fine Sheldon. Just took a shin to the head." Gina leaned in and hugged him and Penny saw George relax a little.

Sheldon came back his seat at Penny's side and the table had become a mix of conversations about physics and everyone asking Gina about MMA. Apparently George, while Gina and Penny were away, had clarified what his wife's chosen profession now was which at a table full of scientist made Gina the most interesting topic of conversation. Penny sat and listened to it all while watching Sheldon out of the corner of her eye.

"She's ok, Sheldon." Penny said as reassuringly as she could while squeezing his shoulder in a half hug. Penny noticed this time he didn't try to squirm away. It was then that something unexpected happened. Without a word, Sheldon took Penny's hand under the table and held on to it quietly for the rest of the night. The only person who noticed was George Cooper.


	16. Chapter 16

"You can't freaking do that Sheldon!" George yelled while mock banging his head on the lecture hall table. The frustration in his voice rising a little louder with each complaint he had to hurl at his little brother.

"You don't have to yell, George." Sheldon snapped back almost instantaneously without skipping a beat or even looking at George. Sheldon kept meticulously writing and Penny found that she would get lost in the movements of his hand as he was writing.

It had been a week since the night in the restaurant where Sheldon held her hand under the table. Penny had known George noticed, but he hadn't brought it up all week and she was nervous to since he was now her boss. Penny did however confide in Gina hoping that Gina would share in what Penny considered a bombshell sort of development. But Gina, much like George, didn't really have much to say on the subject. She told Penny that the occurrence of hand holding was indeed great, but alluded to Rome not being built in a day. Along with the frustration Penny was feeling from the lack of input from the Coopers, she was even more frustrated with the lack of acknowledgement from Sheldon himself. He had acted like nothing at all had transpired and Penny found that, as Sheldon would put it, most irksome.

"Listen to the boy, George." Dr. Howard Belkin said from the row of seats behind George. "That's not gravy between his ears." Dr. Belkin had come to Caltech to see George and help hash out the Cooper brothers' theory for a paper they were going to publish. "He's on to something for sure. Like a cow pissing on a flat rock." Both Coopers looked at Belkin and George just laugh. "Please continue, Sheldon." The gentile man asked. Penny sat two rows behind Belkin and thought she should keep track of all his little sayings so she could put them in a book one day. As the men went on Penny worked on her laptop prepping George's schedule. Since this new collaboration with Sheldon was going so well Gablehauser wanted to make sure they had nothing in their way. The lecture hall had indeed become a popular place on campus with the students as well as the brothers make shift office. According to George it was the only available place with a big enough chalkboard.

"Howard…please George don't encourage." George said. "Sheldon you can't make particles act how you want so the formula will work…"

"That's not what I'm doing." Interrupted Sheldon. "Think of the particles as flat but moving in a wave pattern. Like a sheet on a bed. You grab one end and tug so the sheet tightens. They become three dimensional because they stack themselves on top of one another." Sheldon continued and finished writing his formula for the other two men.

"My God." Said Belkin stunned looking at George. George looked back at Belkin, both mouthed something to one another, but Sheldon nor Penny could pick up what it was.

"Penny please clear the people out of the room." George asked without even looking at her.

Penny got up and did as she was asked. The students grumbled and begged to stay, but that was why George hired her and why a blond Nebraska farm girl was helpful to have around. Penny could get people to do what she wanted, one way or the other.

"George…." Sheldon asked puzzled.

"Sheldon where did you come up with this idea?" George ask with without removing his eyes from Sheldon.

"I worked on it in my spare time in the artic. Why?" Sheldon was now apprehensive and felt like he needed to defend himself.

"It's genius, Sheldon." George said as he stepped up to the board next to his brother.

"That's got to be a piece." Belkin said, now standing himself and moving to the board. Both men starting writing formulaic symbols around Sheldon's original work. Penny watch as Sheldon backed away and starred awe struck, his hand moving to his mouth as if to catch any words that might fall out.

After a few minutes the two men stepped back from the board and George stood next to his brother. All three of them and Penny too, by proxy of it being in front of her, looked at the board and took it the large formula that at this point covered almost all of it.

"Do you have the number?" George asked looking at Belkin.

"Of course." Belkin replied. "Penny could you be a dear and Skype this address for me?" Belkin reached into his leather work case and handed Penny a laminated piece of paper. Penny took the sheet and noticed right away this was not going to be a local call.

"George, please explain." Sheldon looked at his brother for answers.

"Sheldon," George started slowly, "A small group of us have been working together, for a time, on projects, together helping each other with our individual pursuits. If one of us comes across something that would help one of the others we share. It's a small informal group just sharing knowledge. It's also private. Understand?" George looked squarely at his brother so there would be no mistaking his meaning.

"Of course." Sheldon almost protested. Penny could clearly tell something big was about to happen.

"Hello? Anyone about?" the heavy accented English voice said from Penny's screen. A pale squint faced man appear, with tussled curly hair and thick rimmed glass. "George, mate. You alright?"

"Dr. Isaacs, hello." George replied. "Sorry for the short notice. Howard Belkin is here with me and so is my brother Sheldon Cooper and my assistant Penny. Is Stephen available?" Sheldon looked at his brother in shock. All three men had gathered around the small screen to see.

"For you, of course. Give me a minute to set his station up." Dr. Isaacs quickly disappeared from the screen of Penny's laptop.

"George…..." Sheldon said it to his brother, but look in confusion at Penny. Penny smiled and silently mount "Oh my gawd" at Sheldon, who was looking at her for confirmation what was happening was indeed real. Sheldon's eyes were wide and he felt as if he was becoming unglued at the seams. He was fidgeting more uncontrollably as each second passed.

"Oh get it together Sheldon." George said while he kept his eyes on Penny's laptop screen, not evening looking at his little brother. "It's only Stephen Hawking"


	17. Chapter 17

The small laptop screen flickered and the scene changed to what could only be described as an English living room. The walls were wood paneled and everything in the room was accented toward a smart board. A couple of wooden desk and couches filled the screen and the lightning was warm, reminding Sheldon that it was early evening in Cambridge.

Dr. Isaacs could be seen typing on a laptop while holding one finger up to the camera indicting they were to wait for something.

"Can you hear me now?" The Doctor's thick English accent was so English it sounded stereotypical.

"We hear you just fine." Howard Belkin said toward the computer screen.

"Howard? My goodness, how are you my dear fellow?" Dr. Isaacs replied with a cheerful smile and small wave to Belkin.

"Well, southern California isn't where I'd want to hang my hat, but it's always nice to visit." Belkin actually tipped an invisible hat as he said it to the small screen.

It was at that moment, in the background, Sheldon noticed a small man in a motorized wheelchair moving across the screen having entered the office from an unseen hallway.

"Hello, George." The mechanical voice said from the laptop speaker.

"Stephen. How are you?" George replied with the respect he held for the man on the computer screen evident in his voice.

"Well, you'd be surprised to find out its raining." Hawking said back. Sheldon couldn't tell if it was meant as a joke or a factual statement on the weather. His brain was still reeling from the fact he was witnessing a conversation with his brother and Stephen Hawking. He had always known that George worked with and in fact knew Hawking on a semi personal level having taught at Cambridge.

"It's England. It's always raining." George and Dr. Isaacs said at same time with a laugh.

"It's good to see you Howard." Hawking said to Belkin. "When are you coming to Cambridge to visit?"

With the most gentile, yet smart assed tone of voice anyone has ever heard Belkin soothed, "You know fully well my dear man that I can't possibly be away that long from the chickens and goats." Hawking and Belkin had known each other for years and in the past Hawking had visited Belkin's working farm in North Carolina.

"Touché." Hawking replied.

"Touché." Dr. Isaacs repeated immediately.

"Down to business then?" Belkin continued.

"Hello Penny." Hawking's voice module chirped in. "Nice blouse."

Penny leaned in between the men, "Good evening Dr. Hawking, very smart cardigan you're wearing today." Penny playfully bantered. Sheldon turned and looked at Penny in terrified shock. Penny only looked back and shrugged.

"Stephen, please quit flirting with my assistant." George said bemused to his seventy-five year old mentor. "We have something we want to show you. It plays into your radiation formula for black holes."

"I'd rather talk with Penny." Hawking shot back fast enough that George realized he already knew what George was going to say.

"Don't mind him dear." Dr. Isaacs said to Penny. "What have you got George?"

"It's something my brother came up with during his monopole research." George continued. "I'll let him explain."

Sheldon just looked at George as if his older brother had thrown him out of a plane without a parachute and thought it was funny.

"Just talk to him Sheldon." George said as soothingly as possible. "Tell him about the particle formations." George looked his brother dead in the eye and put a hand on Sheldon's shoulder, "Don't embarrass me."

"Dr. Hawking, Dr. Isaacs." Sheldon started, "I..." Sheldon's voiced cracked like he picked that moment to start puberty. He was feeling as equally awkward. "Think of particles…" another crack, but Sheldon continued, "…particles around a black hole like a sheet on a bed." Sheldon found his pace and his footing. He began talking about particle waves being thin and three dimensional, bouncing questions off of Dr. Isaacs and making notes on the formula George had put on the board. Belkin was chiming in about gravity and that's when Penny noticed George had stepped back and taken a seat in the front row of the lecture hall. Penny came and sat down by him.

"Look at him go." George said it to Penny while never turning his attention away from the scientist in front of him.

"Did you think he would buckle?" Penny asked.

"Of course not." George sounded surprised at the question. "But I didn't know he could be this good."

Sheldon continued on for another forty-five minutes before he and Belkin told the men in England good night. Hawking wanted to see some of Sheldon's writings on his particle theories and Sheldon agreed. All the men exchanged pleasantries and even Penny got a "Good Evening" from Dr. Hawking before the Skype call was terminated. Sheldon took a seat in the second row and glowed. He said nothing, but the smile on his face spoke volumes.

"Howard can I buy you dinner before your flight?" George said turning to Belkin and helping the distinguished man with his carry all."

"That would be delightful, my dear boy." Belkin replied, "But only if Gina will be joining us."

"Of course. She wouldn't dream of not seeing you off." George opened the door exiting the lecture hall for everyone. They small group walked down the hall to the exit past all the anxious grad students hoping to get a look at the three scientist.

"How about you kids?" Belkin turned and addressed Penny and Sheldon. "Will you be joining us?"

"I think Sheldon probably needs to head home." George interrupted. "Penny could you see to that?"

Penny looked at the two men. "Of course." Then she leaned in and gave Belkin warm hug and wished him a safe trip home.

As George and Howard Belkin rounded the corner away from Penny and Sheldon, Sheldon turned on Penny like a mountain cat.

"When were you going to tell me you had met Dr. Stephen Hawking, Penny?" Sheldon said it so fast and demanding Penny was caught like a deer in headlights.

"When the time was right." Penny shot back.

"How many of…" Sheldon trailed off realizing that this was indeed not the first time that Penny had met Hawking. With a questioning plea in his eyes Penny continued.

"A few times now, since I started working for your brother." Penny said dead flat into Sheldon's chest.

"A few…a few…" Sheldon couldn't even complete his thought processes, he just shook his head and spun in a circle, as if he was trying to make sure the ground still existed all the way around him.

"Sheldon," Penny started, "You do remember George saying these meetings were private right?" Penny looked at him sternly, wanting to make sure he understood her meaning. "None of these people want to have to answer to their respective universities about sharing what could possibly be ground breaking , um….breakthroughs."

"I understand that Penny, it's just that, well I guess it was a lot to take in." Sheldon said with a softer tone that made him regret snapping at Penny moments before.

The two continued to walk towards Penny's car and talk about dinner plans, with Penny throwing the fact Sheldon couldn't tell the guys back in 4A anything about tonight, into the conversation every few sentences. They had decided on the Cheesecake Factory because after all it was Tuesday and cheesecake sounded good to Penny. It's not like Sheldon was recommending anything else. Sheldon was texting the guys to meet them when he got a text himself.

 _LAX Friday 7:30_

 _We're picking up Missy_

 _YES, you're going_

 _George Cooper, PhD_

Sheldon sighed and put his phone back in is pocket.


	18. Chapter 18

LAX is not the sort of place Sheldon Cooper would normally choose to spend his time. In fact if he had the power, places like LAX would not exist. Too many people, too many germs, too many of everything, but his older brother told him he was going and that was that. Sheldon had not been able to win an argument with George since he was eight years old.

"She's our sister Sheldon," George bemoaned on the drive through the city to the airport. "For the love of it Sheldon, you're twins, don't you miss her a little from time to time?"

"Just because…" Sheldon was going to give his usual lecture on uterus sharing before George interrupted him.

"Sheldon, don't give me that line of crap about emotional interpersonal attachments." George boomed out a little more than he intended and the similarities to his father almost made him wince. "People need people Sheldon, we all like to be wanted." Sheldon was going to retort with facts from several psychological clinical studies he had read, but his mind had unfathomably turned towards Penny. He pondered on the implications of that as the city passed by outside the window in front of him.

After 30 minutes of trying to find a parking space, another 30 minutes of walking around the airport trying to find the right baggage claim, 22 minutes of trying not to be touched by people and 3 minutes of avoiding a rather loud lady with the makings of what was sure to a viral infection on her upper lip, Sheldon was at the limit of what he could mentally endure. He kept calculating how long it should take to land, transverse the runway, dock the plane and so on and so on. He was pacing three steps behind George and Gina when he heard it.

"Shelly, George!" the sound came rolling down the walk way. It was the heightened Texas drawl that caught Sheldon. He knew his sister loved to accentuate her accent when around him. Spotting Missy was easy, even in the crowded baggage claim area, she stood nearly three inches taller than everyone else. At 6'1". Missy was the shortest of the three Cooper children, but still elegant enough in her height that she received more than just a few glances from the men and women she passed by. Sheldon would never admit it, but he did like to see his twin from time to time and smiled as he saw her approaching. George on the other hand noticed right away that Missy was starring directly at him with a look that was a mixture of gentile smile and apologetic overkill.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered into George's ear as she leaned into hug him first, actually bypassing Sheldon somewhat.

Everything sank in George at that moment as if his mind had conjured its very own black hole.

"Moon pie!" the voice rang down the walkway." The small, barely 5' tall elderly lady it came from could be seen pushing people out of the way as she approached Sheldon. She was thin, wrinkled with gray hair that you could tell had been permed every Tuesday for the last 60 years. She had the same long lanky arms all the Coopers had, and the same east Texas drawl that her grandchildren sometimes tried to hide. Sheldon immediately whipped around on a point from Missy and rushed to his grandmother's waiting hug. To some looking from the outside the 6'3" man lurched over the small gray haired lady may have seemed a little comical.

"Oh shit…then..." George's head whipped down the walk way to see if there was anyone else coming. And there was.

"Hello, George." His mother's east Texas voice came out of the crowd about 5 feet in front of him. He stepped forward and hugged her with the warmth that was commensurate to the amount of time that hadn't seen each other. It was a soft, yet firm hug because despite the water under the bridge between them, George loved his mother and she loved him. She hugged him back with the same vigor in which he hugged her. She knew that this was trying for both of them. Despite their many differences Mary Cooper knew her children better than most.

"George." Said his grandmother flatly. Her arm was interlocked with Sheldon's and George couldn't help but notice his brother was beaming from ear to ear, as if he had just received a new train set. And that was when George noticed the package in Sheldon's other arm, which in fact was a new train set.

"Hello grandma," George said warmly as he leaned down to kiss her wrinkled cheek. The little ancient lady looked as if she was lost in a forest of redwood trees amongst her elevated grandchildren. As he started to come back up to his full height, Gina had quit talking with Missy and walked up to interlink her arm with George's, mirroring the position of Sheldon and his grandmother.

"How are you Constance?" Gina said in the gentlest way, as if the wrong word would cause the old lady to explode. Gina also passed of her most disarming smile as Missy came up and flanked George's other side.

"Fine my dear girl except…" she was interrupted as Sheldon quietly pulled away to say hello and hug his mother.

"Let me get your bags grandma." George was not trying to move this family reunion along from in front of the baggage claim.

"That one is mine." The eldest Cooper said pointing to a bag George knew was hers without needing it pointed out to him. It was the same suitcase she had had his entire life. As a young kid she would take it out of the closet and he would pretend it was a spaceship or a submarine or a boat, always something that took him somewhere else. He reached down to grab the ancient handle and as always it was like lifting a ton of bricks. Most assuredly full of presents for Sheldon.

"Dear child! What happened to your face?" Mary Cooper could be heard shrieking from somewhere behind George and he knew this was going to be a very long visit.

"Hey, Georgie." Missy had quietly sauntered up next to him under the guise of looking for her luggage. "Please don't be mad. They wanted it to be a surprise." She somewhat pleaded.

"A little warning next time." He glanced at his sister and then over to Sheldon who was beaming like a candle from the attention of his mother and grandmother. "At least he's happy." At this point Gina had return to her husband's side since she already needed a break from Mary Cooper going on and on about her swollen face.

"Girl…" Missy trailed off while looking past George and over to Gina. It was as if she was trying to apologize for visting.

"It's all good." Gina smiled at Missy. "It'll all be good."

"Everyone want to get something to eat? My treat." George chirped in has he picked up the last bag from the luggage carousel.

"We're famished George." Mary Cooper said to everyone while placing her hand on Constance's shoulder, before the little lady could pipe in. "You pick. I'm sure we'll love it."

"Shut up, Sheldon." Missy and George said at the same time dismissing Sheldon before he could sound off like his grandmother. Missy was well aware of Sheldon's eating schedule.

"We're going to try something they would like." Added in Gina.

"Social etiquette." Said George carrying the bags behind everyone. "Sheldon, please lead everyone to the car." George's voice made it perfectly clear that this was not a request as he trailed behind everyone with bags in tow.

As Sheldon lead his mother and grandmother towards the SUV George had rented to make sure there was room enough for everyone, George, Gina and Missy started to fall a little more behind so they could talk more freely. Missy and Gina caught up with one another, one asking the other about guys and the other asking if married life to a Cooper had led to senility yet. George was glad that at least his wife and sister got along. They had finally reached the SUV, every muscle aching in George's back as he began loading the trunk space with bags.

"Where are you guys staying, Missy?" Gina asked behind George.

"Well I was hoping that was something you could help us with." Missy coyly eyed at George.

"Oh you're F &$ing kidding me." He aimed right at his little sister know she had set him up the whole time.

"Of course you're welcome." Gina took Missy around the shoulder at they loaded in to the SUV as well. "Let's figure out where to eat." She shot a cold eye stare back that only he caught.

George took a moment and leaned his head against the rear glass, took a deep breath and slowly released it.

"Here we go." He thought to himself.


	19. Chapter 19

"I don't see why I have to go to work…" George's voice trailed off as he woke from another night of sleeping on the floor. His hand inched its way up the side of the couch in searched of his wife's, coming over the edge of the cushion like a creature from the ocean. He felt her hand reach for his and he went back to staring at the ceiling fan.

"I miss our bed." He said, Gina only gave his hand a little squeeze. That had been their code over the years that signaled she was not quite ready to wake up. George squeezed her hand back ever so softly and then rolled over on his side for fifteen more minutes of sleep.

Penny and Missy had caught up and spent the last three days seeing the sites while entertaining both Mary and Constance Cooper. They were on their way back up the stairs to apartment 4A when they came across George getting ready to knock on the door.

"Morning…" Missy's voice squeaked when she caught a look from George. It was a sour look that blamed her for all the aches and pains he had endured from sleeping on the floor since his mother and grandmother had taken over his bed, at the insistence of Sheldon, who had pointed out that his and Gina's bed would be more practical for the two women since it was king sized. Missy had taken up residence on Sheldon's couch for one night before Penny offered to bunk with her in Penny's bed, an occasion that had Wolowitz clearly enamored.

"What's on the schedule for today Georgie," Missy asked while getting some orange juice from the kitchen.

"Missy, what are you doing?" Sheldon had entered the room looking incredulously at his sister.

"Shut up Shelly," Missy popped off without even looking at Sheldon.

Penny had come over and stood next to George directing her question directly at him and not the rest of the room. "Should I come in today or…"

"You take care of my mom and grandmother and we will call that work." George shot back without letting Penny finish her sentence. He didn't mean to be short with Penny, but his back hurt and he hadn't had a good night's sleep in three days. "The wedding is in a couple days and they leave on Sunday. We'll get back into a normal routine then." George said it apologetically and Penny knew he was tired and didn't mean anything by it.

Missy, Mary and Constance Cooper had come to Pasadena for the wedding of one of Missy's closest college friends. The entire Cooper clan was invited, and Sheldon had spent the last three days trying to come up with reasons highlighting why he did not want to attend. Each idea was carefully thought out and he believed completely beyond the sake of argument. Each idea was in turned shot down by George, then Mary, then Missy and at one instance Missy and George at the same time. Sheldon concluded that he would go only after his grandmother had asked him to go and offered him a homemade moon pie as a bribe.

"Sheldon you do know that you'll be expected to bring a date to the wedding, right?" George didn't even turn around as he bounced the statement off the chalkboard in front of him.

Sheldon sat upright at the desk he was using and looked directly as Raj and Wolowitz for confirmation that this was indeed expected of him.

"Its pretty standard etiquette to bring dates to weddings." Howard said to Sheldon while smacking Raj on the arm for secondary confirmation.

"Yeah, pretty standard." Raj chirped up from his laptop.

"Who are you thinking of asking?" George said while walking across the room to the three men sitting at the large wooden table. George had pretty much at this point taken over the entire classroom instead of using his office. There were multiple chalkboards covered with equations and multiple laptops scattered about the room. George did not share his brother's anal-retentive cleanliness when it came to his working area. Oddly enough he could tell you what was on everything sheet of paper scattered about the room.

"I haven't thought about such a thing." Sheldon said standing up to take his place at the chalkboard where George was just working. He immediately went to inputting his equations into George's model hoping that the others would drop the discussion.

"Bullshit," George heckled from across the room, "I know you well enough that once you agreed to go, you started researching the goings-on of weddings. Which means that if you did that you would know the plus one on the invitation you received from Missy was not referring to our grandmother. Once you came to that conclusion you knew that social decorum would require you to take a date." George accentuated that last word he said with air quotes.

Sheldon just dropped his head. His brother had outwitted him again with his personal knowledge of how Sheldon's mind worked. What George had just described was exactly what Sheldon had done. Wolowitz and Raj both spun around and looked at George once they saw Sheldon's shoulders slump towards the floor.

"Its not that bad Sheldon. You can look at it as a social experiment if that's what you need to do." George said it in a way that reminded Raj of the way his mother would talk to him when he was young and needed to take medicine.

"It's just…" Sheldon looked directly at his brother," Who would I ask?"

That question lingered with Sheldon the rest of the day. After the scientist had finished in George's makeshift office classroom hybrid, Sheldon had started calculating the possible candidates on the walk to his office. He broke down everyone who could be a possibility. There was Leslie Winkle, though that seemed displeasing and Sheldon was sure she wouldn't want to attend anything like this with him. There was the nice lady in the lunch room, the one who knew how he liked his turkey sandwiches, but that was all he knew about her. There was also Luciana, the custodian who did such a nice job cleaning his office and again realized that was all he knew about that woman as well. He instantaneously checked Ramona Nowitzki off the mental list he was making. No need temping danger he thought. He wondered for a bit if Wolowitz or Raj knew of anyone he could ask, but let that idea go as seeing he didn't like the type of women then two of them dated. He thought about the neuroscientist he met the other day. Her name was Amy and he thought she seemed nice enough. She was a scientist and he liked that, but she was in the biological sciences and so he crossed her off the list. Perhaps she would like the idea of treating this as a social experiment. At that, Sheldon Cooper, PhD was out of ideas.

He had decided to take the bus home that night. Sheldon hated the bus, but no longer wanted to engage with his roommate and two somewhat friends because he didn't want to discuss the topic of who he was going to ask anymore. He even passed on riding home with George for the same reason. George was going to pick up Gina on the way home and she was bound to ask him the same inquiries everyone else had asked that day.

On the bus as he watched traffic slide by out the window, Sheldon noticed a truck with a Nebraska license plate and he had an epiphany of who it would be, and it struck him as astoundingly simple to the point it embarrassed him somewhat that he didn't think of it earlier, that he didn't think of it right away.

Sheldon strode up the door at Apartment 4B.

 ** _Knock Knock Knock, Penny… Knock Knock Knock, Penny… Knock Knock Knock, Penny._**

Penny answered the door.

"What's up moon pie?" she smiled.


End file.
